


Another Name for the Devil

by ScarlettSiren



Series: Nōmenclātūra [1]
Category: ATEEZ (Band), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, Asexual Character, Barebacking, Blood Drinking, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Body Horror, Character Turned Into Vampire, Cuddling, Death, Double Penetration, Edging, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Light Bondage, M/M, Mild BDSM, Multiple Partners, Murder, Orgies, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Torture, Rimming, Vampire Hunters, Vampire Turning, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2019-10-24 22:45:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 104,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17713091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarlettSiren/pseuds/ScarlettSiren
Summary: In a world where vampires live side-by-side with humanity, treaties and laws uphold a tenuous, if not always peaceful, coexistence between the two.When one is spurned by humanity and shown the darkest parts of it, only to find themselves welcomed by the night… it is easy to question just who are the real monsters.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> You know darn well what inspired this (stares at bloody Wooyoung in Hala Hala). Thanks to my Atiny Twitter GC for cheering me on. The title is from Boy Meets Evil.
> 
> I am not tagging every little referenced ship but just know it's implied that all of the vampire coven kind of shares each other, and this becomes explicit in later chapters. There will be so many variations that I'm not tagging them all. It's worth mentioning that the boys are all aged up here (and not just the vampires). It is mentioned in-universe.
> 
> ***** BE WARNED: There are some pretty violent scenes involving the characters. One in particular involves a very graphic implied gay bashing. These scenes result in traumatic injury, but this is a vampire AU so infer what you will. I don't kill main characters off but I would steer clear of this fic if you are sensitive to anything I have tagged.

Seonghwa took one last, long drag of his cigarette before snubbing it underfoot, glancing over at Yeosang as he did the same. It was a chilly night, but that had never much bothered either of them. The warmth of smoke in their lungs did as much good as it would do harm; that was, none. When one was a vampire, one did not need to worry about such trivial things as the weather or carcinogens, or even the moronic fucking motorist who blasted his horn as he narrowly swerved by them in the crosswalk, trying to beat the light. Yeosang glowered after him, half tempted to blow out his tires on a turn and watch him craft his own demise, but at Seonghwa’s quelling glance, he abandoned the thought.

The two of them hardly went out anymore, and they were starting to remember why. Despite all the laws and protections and treaties which claimed the contrary, there was still a very stark line in the sand between vampires and humans. Discrimination wasn’t strictly legal, but that didn’t stop establishments from finding reasons to conveniently not have room for their kind on a given night, which made their options few.

Vampire-only clubs were often raucous places which catered to the partying kind. When one was a newly-made vampire, it was easy to slip into debaucherous habits, but Seonghwa and Yeosang were… very old. They spent most evenings in front of an artificial fire reading ancient texts written in dead languages which mortals had long since forgotten. Droll, perhaps, to some. Even to them, sometimes, which was how they’d found themselves walking the streets of downtown Seoul looking for something— _anything_ —to occupy them.

“You know, we should pass this along to the vampire-human relation councils or it will never be resolved.” Yeosang said as they turned a corner, spurned by yet another human-run establishment. They were too easily spotted out with their deathly-pallid skin and bright eyes.

“It will only cause more discourse. Let it be.” Seonghwa soothed, needlessly shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Of course _you_ want to let it be. _I_ wanted to go out tonight. And so far all we’ve done is spend less than an hour in a blood bar and get turned away from every human establishment from here to the river.” Yeosang grumbled. “I don’t know _how_ San enjoys those clubs. They’re a racket.”

“He doesn’t go for the music.” Seonghwa murmured, halting suddenly and lifting his chin. “Do you hear that?”

“The unending bustle of this insufferable city? Yes, constantly.” Yeosang huffed. A very distinct sound reached him then, however, and his head jerked up. “Oh. _That._ ”

The two of them shared a glance before turning down the next alley at a renewed pace, following the noise.

At the mouth of the alley were eight men… seven were in all black, wearing bandanas and face masks over their noses and mouths. A few of them had bats, one a long chain, but the others were just using their fists as boots as they all collectively attacked the eighth man between them.

He was young; couldn’t have been more than twenty-two or so, with his silver hair done up in a perfect swoop. His light clothing was a stark contrast to his attackers; Seonghwa spotted a ripped-up jacket discarded nearby but the boy was now in just a satiny pastel top and leather pants, face done up with makeup and highlight. He heard the other seven men spitting a chorus of slurs, and it was obvious, then, why they had attacked him.

“Step away.” Seonghwa snarled, voice low and deadly but somehow booming through the cold stone alley. The men turned, looking ready to strike, until they laid eyes on him.

“Oh shit, they’re vamps. Let’s get out of here!” One of them shouted, and in a stumbling frenzy, they bolted toward the other end of the alley.

“We should stop them!” Yeosang cried, and Seonghwa began to run after them, but the boy in pastel satin coughed, suddenly, a glob of blood staining his lips.

“Forget them.” Seonghwa muttered, sliding to a halt right next to the boy. He knelt, cocking his head at him and placing a hand on his chest. “Oh, Yeosang… he hasn’t got long.”

“Wh-what?” Yeosang ran to his side, falling to his knees as well. “I can’t… hear it as well as you. The way the blood moves.”

Seonghwa shook his head. “The way he struggles for air. Listen.”

The boy took a wheezing breath, and Yeosang heard it; the way the splintered ribs tore into his lungs. Yeosang’s face contorted in agony. “What’s your name, boy?”

“W-Wooyoung.” He gritted out, garbled on his own blood.

“Wooyoung. Do you know what we are?” Yeosang asked gently. The boy nodded. “The damage to your internal organs it’s… too much for your human doctors to heal. If we move you from this place, you may not make it to a hospital.”

“D-don’t leave me…” Wooyoung sobbed, his hand coming up to grab at the sleeve of Yeosang’s coat. Several of his fingers were twisted in ways they should not have been, bloody and bruised.

“We won’t.” Seonghwa assured, sweeping the boy’s fringe, matted with blood, out of his eyes. “Listen. We will try to take you to a hospital, if you want. Or, you can allow one of us to save you. Do you understand what that means?”

“Y-you mean you’d t-turn me into one of you. A vampire.” Wooyoung surmised.

“Yes. Your body would be able to heal, but your heart would never beat again. Your life would end, but begin anew. We will only do this if you ask.” Seonghwa explained, taking the boy’s other hand into his own. “It is not a small decision, but it is an urgent one. Your life slips away, child. Tell us, what would you have us do?”

“Are you certain merely making him a familiar would not suffice?” Yeosang hissed in a nearly-inaudible whisper.

Seonghwa shook his head. “The internal damage is too much. We would need to turn him.”

“Y-yes.” Wooyoung choked out, tightening his grip on the both of them. “P-please, I don’t want to die, I—”

“Shh, all right. It’s all right. Just close your eyes.” Seonghwa soothed, gently running his fingers over his face until his eyes fell closed. He looked to Yeosang, nodding.

“When you wake again, you will be a child of the night… and you will never suffer this kind of pain again.” Yeosang murmured like a promise, cradling the boy gently in his arms as he pulled him up just enough to sink his fangs into his neck.

***

Wooyoung awoke with a start, sitting up in an unfamiliar bed. It was large, much larger than his own, draped in satin sheets. The windows were entirely curtained, the room plunged in darkness. Despite that it was black as pitch, he could clearly see the figure seated in a wingback chair against the wall across from him, sipping on a glass of… no, it probably wasn’t wine after all, was it?

Memories surfaced to the forefront of Wooyoung’s mind; being jumped in the alley, feeling more pain than he could imagine, and then… them. The vampires. He clutched at his own chest, but he could not feel anything. Not the agony from the broken ribs or ruined organs, but neither could he feel the beating of his own heart. There was only stillness, and the absence of pain. He glanced down to see that he was wearing silk pajamas, now, in pale lilac. They were not his.

“We believed your injuries would cause you to need to sleep for a longer time than is typical. It’s been three nights, if you were curious.” The vampire said from across the room, setting down his glass and moving toward the bed. He was clad in a black satin shirt with a vee so deep it showed a long expanse of pale flesh all the way down to his solar plexus. His eyes were impossibly bright, a pale blue like clear morning skies. His skin was pallid and flawless, all except for a reddish bit of mottled flesh at the corner of his left eye, like a birthmark. “I am Yeosang. I am the one who turned you.”

“I… you saved my life.” Wooyoung croaked, eyes tracking the other’s movement as he sat next to him on the bed, feet still touching the floor.

“You saved your own, by allowing me to do it.” Yeosang corrected. “We do not turn others without consent. It is a heavy decision to make in such a dire circumstance. Few come to regret it, but… it has been known to happen.”

“I don’t regret it.” Wooyoung said, a laugh involuntarily escaping his lips. It surprised him just how easily he’d said it. “I… I am alive. And now… men like that, they can’t hurt me.”

“No.” Yeosang agreed, smiling. “No they cannot.”

There was a long pause before Wooyoung spoke again, hesitant.

“Yeosang…-hyung…?”

The vampire barked a laugh full of mirth, utterly amused. “Oh, we don’t use honorifics here. They seem meaningless when age differences come in centuries, hm? Just Yeosang is fine.”

“Ah. Yeosang.” Wooyoung tried again, clearing his throat. “I suppose I just… wondered how this all worked. I don’t know much about vampires, just the basics they teach in school, but I know they generally keep to their covens, and humans aren’t usually so accepting once someone is turned—”

“Do you have friends you are concerned about?” Yeosang asked gently.

“N-no, not really. I had one good friend, back at university, but we lost touch when I moved to the city.” Wooyoung murmured. “I just meant that… this place, it’s built for vampires, obviously. The curtains, the…”—his eyes tracked over to the goblet across the room before lighting upon Yeosang once more—“...amenities. I can’t say I’d be prepared for all this if I… went back home.”

“Mm, I suppose humans don’t exactly explain our usual process if we turn one of you. That makes sense.” Yeosang replied with a genial smile. “You are right that most of us stick with the coven. We’ve brought you to our mansion, which is in a secluded area in rural Seongnam. You’ll find that, should you choose to stay here, all your needs will be seen to. If you would prefer to live on your own, you are not barred from doing so, but it is ill-advised, especially for a fledgling with no knowledge of—”

“No, I… I’d like to stay.” Wooyoung told him, nodding as if to himself.

Yeosang grinned at him, no less genially than before. “Good. We would love to have you.”

“Yeosang! Yeosangie! Where are you hiding?” Called a voice from outside the door. Before the elder vampire could even give warning, it was thrown open, a small figure bursting through and throwing themselves on the bed right at Wooyoung’s feet. “I knew I smelled a fresh vampire! Yeosangie, you were hiding him from me!”

“I wasn’t hiding anything, he was recovering.” Yeosang chided. “Wooyoung, this is San. He is—was, our youngest, ‘til you.”

“Well, I’ll _always_ be the baby.” San cooed with a wink, blowing him a kiss before turning back to Wooyoung. “A new blood in our coven, though! How rare and exciting. He’s _so_ pretty. What’s your fancy? How old are you? How do you like your blood in the morning?”

“San.” Yeosang chided, giving him a look. “Give him time for sensitive topics. He is twenty-one, though, and—”

“Wait. How did you know… _exactly_ how old I am?” Wooyoung asked.

“We can taste the age of the blood.” Yeosang explained. “You’ll understand when you feed for the first time.”

“Oh. He hasn’t fed yet.” San blinking at him owlishly before giving a mischievous little grin. “Very well, then. I’ll check in again once he’s all settled. Nice meeting you.”

He offered a showy wave as he darted out the door, closing it behind him. Yeosang sighed and rolled his eyes.

“I apologize for San. He comes on a little strong.”

“No, it’s… he seems wonderful.” Wooyoung replied with a smile.

Yeosang gave him a fond grin, then, seemingly pleased. “Oh, well. If you get along with San then you’ll do perfectly fine here.”

Wooyoung laughed, and he did not miss the way Yeosang watched him for a long, silent moment before he clapped both hands upon his knees and stood.

“In any case, we should get you into some proper clothes and go over your options for feeding.”

“Options?” Wooyoung asked, feeling entirely out of his depth.

Yeosang had crossed the room to a closet, pulling out some simple clothing that had a certain understated elegance. He handed them to Wooyoung on the hangers, ushering him toward the changing shade in the opposite corner. “Yes, options. Not everyone feeds in the same way.”

“What are my _options_?” Wooyoung asked from behind the screen as he slipped out of his pajamas, pulling on the slacks first.

“You may take donated blood, straight from the packet. Or, you can use a glass. Some opt for IVs if they don’t like the taste, which is rare, but a few have moral objections, which is… honestly a long and grueling subject for another time.” Yeosang explained. “You also have the option of drinking from a person… one of our familiars, until you have one of your own, should you choose to. But feeding from a human for the first time is closely monitored until you gain an understanding of how much is safe to drink.”

“Will I… go into a frenzy, or something?” Wooyoung asked, pausing as he was buttoning up the shirt he’d been given.

“It’s not unheard of, but… well. Think of it more like pleasure. Once you start to feel it, it’s easy to go chasing more. Most don’t find it too terribly overwhelming, it just takes a certain level of awareness. And control.” Yeosang clarified. “You shouldn’t be too nervous. We’re here to help.”

Wooyoung smiled as he stepped out from behind the shade. Somehow, it felt nice to hear that, even if these people were virtually strangers to him. He crossed the room to where the other stood, waiting.

“All right, let’s see the damage, then.” Yeosang murmured, cradling Wooyoung’s chin gently in his hand and using his thumb to pull his bottom lip down, exposing his teeth and gums. Wooyoung was too shocked to react, just stood there and let it happen. After a moment of peering around in his mouth, he released him. “Mm, your gums are incredibly pale. You must be starving.”

“It feels… empty.” Wooyoung admitted, rubbing his chin with a grimace. “Not like normal hunger.”

“Your body is likely exhausted from all the healing you needed to do.” Yeosang surmised. “Hunger generally feels like just that: _hunger_. Sometimes painful, if you go too long.”

“Mm.” Wooyoung nodded, following as the other headed out the door.

He had surmised just based on the size and decor of the room he was being kept in, but now he was utterly certain the mansion he had been brought to was _massive_. Once they left the hall, the ceiling arced up higher than any private home’s had any right to, each and every corner and surface decorated with impeccable taste and elegance.

“Ah, he’s up. I guessed as much from San’s excitement.” Seonghwa said, coming to greet the two of them in the expansive foyer. “How are you feeling?”

“Alive.” Wooyoung replied, smiling.

“Wooyoung, this is Seonghwa. He was there with me the night I turned you. He is the leader of our clan, the Coven of Twilight.” Yeosang explained.

Wooyoung made a face. “Really? Of… _Twilight_.”

“In our defense, it was so named centuries before that inaccurate drivel was ever written.” Seonghwa replied with the sort of disdain that spoke to just how many times he’d had to say that. “The only other clans in our immediate area are the Coven of Starlight, the Coven of Moonlight and the Coven of Blacklight. They are the youngest, rather new-age.”

“Uh huh. Vampires seem to be experts at naming things.” Wooyoung mumbled.

“The largest clan in Korea, they are more to the south but they simply call themselves the Coven of Power. So, as names go…” Yeosang inclined his head.

“We didn’t end up with the worst.” Wooyoung surmised.

“No, decidedly not. And they are, indeed, focused on power… with their large numbers, the maximum the country allows, last I checked. We stay far from their squabbles.” Seonghwa explained. “Discourse abounds with a clan that large. We are a small family, here.”

Wooyoung couldn’t help the way his mouth curled up at one corner, just at the thought. He hadn’t had a family of his own in a long time.

“In any case, I won’t keep you longer.” Seonghwa said with a nod, his look meaningful. “Should you have need of anything, and Yeosang is not available, or if you simply grow tired of him, you are welcome to come find me.”

Yeosang huffed. “Hilarious, Seonghwa. Not everyone's attentions are so flighty as yours.”

“Flighty? Have we not been partners for centuries, you and I?” Seonghwa retorted, sounding utterly affronted.

“Partners… ah, yes. Rather like _business_ partners these past few centuries, hm? Since Mingi came along? And then San…” Yeosang drawled. “And now that young hunter you’re always making eyes at—”

“Yeosang.” Seonghwa chided. “Were my soul split in two, surely within you lies the other half of it. I consider you my equal.”

“We’re vampires. We don’t have souls, you prick.” Yeosang bit back, but it was evident by the wry smirks that the two shared then that this sort of playful banter was par for the course for them.

After a good laugh, Yeosang continued to lead Wooyoung past the foyer. “This place is a bit of a maze when you’re new, but you will know your way around in no time.”

Wooyoung had never had a particularly stellar memory, and he was a little disappointed to find that his brain didn’t seem to catalog information any differently than it had when he was a human. He noticed more, certainly, his heightened senses impossible to deny… but he was very much still the same person, absent a beating heart.

Yeosang stopped in front of a set of large, ornate wooden doors, a stark contrast against the more structurally-modern walls surrounding them. “This is where we store our supply of blood, and it serves as a private place to feed but… to be honest, we hardly utilize it. Our familiars generally come to our rooms, or bring us blood, should we ask it of them.”

Wooyoung nodded in understanding, eyes alight in anticipation.

Yeosang turned the doorknob, lifting his chin and sniffing the air as he did so. “Ah, but of course, just as I’ve said that, someone else is using the room.”

He let out a soft chuckle as he pulled the door open, revealing a rather tall vampire with somewhat lanky features and a stunning face. He blinked at the two of them with a sort of vacant expression, his mouth hanging open a little.

“Mingi, perfect that you’re here, I wanted to introduce you to Wooyoung anyway.” Yeosang said brightly as they walked into the room.

The space was filled with all sorts of different furniture, spread out so that it wasn’t cluttered. A large metal door loomed in the far wall, an obvious modern fixture and utterly out of place from the rest of the decor.

“Oh. You must be the new blood San was singing up and down the halls about earlier.” Mingi replied with a laugh, shaking his hand. “Well met.”

“Mingi handles the security here at the mansion.” Yeosang explained. “There are hardly ever any credible threats, which is why it’s acceptable that he’s become so abysmal at his job.”

“Hey, screw you, okay. I have chased off _so_ many pranksters and edgelord thrillseekers. Just because they aren’t angry mobs or military operatives doesn’t mean—”

“Yes, truly you lay down your life in service to us every day.” Yeosang cut him off, nodding solemnly.

“I mean, it’s not all _that_.” Mingi said with an embarrassed, humbled laugh, as though he hadn’t caught the incredibly obvious sarcasm.

Yeosang rolled his eyes, but he was grinning in amusement. Wooyoung scrunched his face up, a bit pitying. Well, at least the guy was a vampire, and he was more than cute. Two out of three wasn’t bad.

“If you don’t mind, Mingi. Some privacy for his first time might be best.” Yeosang told the other with a leading look.

“Oh, of course. I was done anyway so I’ll just take my leave, then. Welcome to the coven.” Mingi said with a bow and a sheepish smile before he headed out of the room.

When he shut the door behind him, it seemed to fall eerily silent for a long, tense moment before Yeosang moved to the large metal panel across from them. He tapped one side of it and it opened, icy steam billowing out as he did so. There were what seemed to be hundreds of blood packets hanging in perfectly-organized rows. They were similar to the ones seen at blood banks meant for human health, but they were not labeled with blood-types. They were entirely separate entities, the blood banks… blood meant to save human lives wasn’t consumed by vampires. Vampires received donations, for compensation, from those who were barred from donating at the other blood banks. Vampires were immune to disease, so whatever convoluted reasons humans had contrived to ban people of certain sexualities from donating to the other banks didn’t apply for them.

Because of the stringent guidelines of the blood industry, limits were kept on covens as to how many vampires they could turn, and taking familiars was incredibly common. Wooyoung couldn’t imagine himself having a familiar… perhaps it was because this was so new to him, because he hadn’t even fed _at all_ yet, that it felt like such an impossibility. Still, there was something so intimidating about that little plastic baggie, vermillion liquid sloshing gently inside it.

Wooyoung jumped when Yeosang closed the freezer, and he realized he’d let his mind wander as he stared at the blood bag. The other didn’t seem to mind much, however, giving him a careful once-over.

“Have you thought about your options?” He asked, his voice purposely gentle. Wooyoung wanted to resent it, but he couldn’t.

“I actually had… a question.” Wooyoung began, finally tearing his eyes away to meet the other’s eyes.

Yeosang nodded, crossing the room to set the bag on a table sat between a large, luxurious chaise lounge and a much smaller, but equally as elegant wingback chair. Wooyoung trailed just behind him, but took a small step back when the other turned to face him again. “Ask it.”

“Do vampires ever feed on… other vampires?” He asked, his voice feeling incredibly small. He had heard horrible things in school about vampires, but it was known that the human education system was horrendously biased against them, so he wanted to know the truth.

“Biting other vampires is done… exclusively as an intimate gesture.” Yeosang explained. “A vampire’s blood doesn’t sate us. It leaves the drinker with a sort of high, though… not unlike strong alcohol does to humans. It’s only ever done in small doses. Prolonged consumption is… highly dangerous. It can warp a vampire’s mind.”

“Also not unlike alcohol.” Wooyoung muttered with the sort of bitterness that spoke to first-hand knowledge. After a moment, he cleared his throat. “Thank you for being so… patient with me. I feel like I don’t know the first thing about any of this, you must think I’m an idiot for agreeing when I—”

“You were dying.” Yeosang murmured, resting a hand on the other’s shoulder. “I made the same decision once, too. Long ago, before vampires were even known to the world. Seonghwa could have told me he could turn me into a boogeyman or a giant demonic dog and I would have agreed, just to not end up breathing my last. No one faults you for it. Not a single one of us. And we don’t think you are an idiot.”

Wooyoung smiled, then, looking down and nodding.

“There was a reason that you asked, though.” Yeosang said, patently not a question.

Wooyoung bit his lip, staring at the floor. Would that he could blush, his face would have been bright red. “I… just… you were the one who turned me, and…”

“You feel comfortable with me.” Yeosang surmised. Wooyoung nodded. “It isn’t uncommon. I am your sire. I was very attached to Seonghwa when he first turned me as well. I am your first connection to your new life. It is only sensible for you to feel that way.”

Wooyoung finally met his eyes again. “That makes me feel a little better about it, then.”

“Good. Here.” Yeosang sat on the chaise next to the small table, then pulled Wooyoung into his lap, spreading his legs to accommodate him. He laid a hand against his shoulder and pushed, gently, until the boy’s back rested against his chest. His spine was rigid, pulled tight as a bowstring. “Try to relax. Put your trust in me to guide you.”

Wooyoung let out a soft little grunt of affirmation, nodding somewhat frantically. Relaxing, however, was easier said than done.

Yeosang reached over to the table, picking up the blood bag. It looked so innocuous and clinical packaged that way.

“Do you want it in a glass first?” He asked, voice low and so so gentle against his ear. Wooyoung shook his head.

Yeosang used his blade-sharp thumbnail to cut off just the tip of one corner, bringing it up to the other’s lips. Wooyoung trembled when the smell hit him. The metallic tang of it was sharper than he remembered as a human. There was a sweetness to it that cloyed at him, beckoning him to taste. His mouth fell open.

Yeosang tipped his hand upward, letting the blood pour into Wooyoung’s mouth. The first taste of it against his tongue was indescribable; like fire that didn’t harm, just warmth and life and energy. He gulped at it voraciously, the slide of it down his throat like an incendiary flow of heat. A groan tore out of him and he squirmed involuntarily in between Yeosang’s legs, the fingers of one hand gripping at a thigh beside him while the other curled around Yeosang’s wrist, as though he feared he may try to deny him and take the blood away.

“Shh, easy.” Yeosang murmured against the shell of his ear, his free arm barring over his waist to grip at his opposite hip, pressing him back down against him to lessen his squirming. Wooyoung’s head fell back against the other’s shoulder as the tension finally, _finally_ left him, and he felt himself melt. “You will have all that you require.”

Wooyoung knew, intrinsically, that he meant _this_ ; blood, _sustenance_ … but somehow he felt to the very core of him that it meant so, so much more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is being posted so quickly because it used to be a single chapter and I had to split it… it was mostly written when I posted the first half.

Days and nights passed with Wooyoung living among his new coven, and in time, he became familiar with them. Seonghwa seemed to keep to himself, but he could often be found in communal parts of the mansion, usually reading or playing an instrument (he was well-versed, Wooyoung learned, in so many of them). Yeosang never strayed far from Wooyoung, and it brought the fledgling vampire a great deal of comfort. He continued to feed him, watching with rapt attention as Wooyoung devoured everything he was given. There was something distinctly intimate about it, and when Yeosang wiped a single drop of blood from the corner of his mouth and sucked it off his own thumb without looking away, Wooyoung felt it hot inside his gut.

There was apparently some bureaucratic red tape to deal with, as Wooyoung was the first vampire the clan had turned since the laws and treaties went into effect. There was a registration process, and Wooyoung helped Seonghwa fill out the paperwork, which often involved notifying next-of-kin. Wooyoung was surprised at just how raw it still felt when he told them that he hadn’t spoken to his parents in years, that they’d disowned him for who he was long before he became a vampire… because he was gay.

“We’re your family now!” San had told him, pulling him into an enthusiastic, crushing hug. “Also, I don’t know a single heterosexual vampire. The prospect of eternal life tends to widen your horizons.”

Wooyoung couldn’t help but laugh, because it was, somehow, an incredibly comforting notion.

Sleeping was the hardest. He still needed it, all vampires did, just perhaps not as often and as much as humans. Wooyoung felt fatigue slam into him when the sun rose, and he retreated to the room he’d awoken in that first night, the one which Yeosang had later explained was his, so long as he wanted it, to do with what he would. They had sent familiars to gather what little he had in his tiny apartment, and even handled breaking his lease… all the logistics he would have never even thought of himself.

Despite needing sleep, it didn’t come easily for Wooyoung on the first day. He awoke with a start when the memories of the night he almost died come for him in his dreams. He didn’t need to breathe, but he woke up gasping for air, convinced that his splintered ribs were tearing into his lungs, ripping them apart while he choked on his own blood.

Yeosang’s room was closeby, but it wouldn’t have needed to be; their hearing was such that he could have heard him across the house. A whole minute hadn’t even passed before Yeosang was standing in his open doorway, expression so terribly concerned… but somehow, _knowing_.

“Wooyoung?” Yeosang didn’t ask what had woken him, didn’t ask if he was all right. There wasn’t a need.

And Wooyoung, Wooyoung just _looked_ at him, stared right into him, desperate and pained, and Yeosang did not ask… just climbed into the bed with him, wrapping him up in his arms until he was tucked under his chin like some frightened child.

 _No,_ Wooyoung corrected himself, feeling the way Yeosang rubbed soothing circles into his back as though it was no burden, no bother at all. _Like something beloved_.

“I guess I thought… it wouldn’t be like this.” Wooyoung said after a long, long while, when he thought his voice might finally be steady enough to get the words out.

“Humans like to call us monsters, because of what we are. But vampirism is only a state of the body. Everything that you were before, remains. All your thoughts, habits, mental ability, fears… some of those might be eliminated by the prospect of eternal life but… trauma. Trauma remains.” Yeosang told him, nose buried against his hair as he held him in the quiet dark. “The only advantage we have, in that respect, is time. Time does heal wounds, even the anguish of our most painful memories. And we have so much of it… so take comfort in knowing that you _will_ outlive your pain. You will overcome it, watch it wither and fade inside you until, perhaps, you cannot remember it at all. I hope that for you.”

Wooyoung clutched tightly to Yeosang’s shoulders, sobbing against his chest well into the daylight hours, and he hoped it for himself, too.

In time, sleeping through the days became easier in Yeosang’s company. There were some days when San, too, would join them… looking for the comfort of another of the members of his coven and seeing no issue with simply sliding in alongside them. Somehow, Wooyoung did not mind… San slotted so perfectly beside them, curled up against Wooyoung or draped across Yeosang’s side. Mingi did not encroach upon their arrangement, however, but it was clearly not due to disinterest. He and San were often sprawled out across one another, and when San had closed himself off with Wooyoung and Yeosang, Mingi would sometimes seek Seonghwa’s company.

Seonghwa did not spurn any of them… though it was clear he did not hold the same emphatic desire as San, for example, never so obvious as when the younger vampire was laid out on the elder’s lap, lapping languidly at the broken flesh of Seonghwa’s wrist and reveling in the high his ancient blood brought him, all while Seonghwa’s focus was clearly upon the book in his other hand. He indulged him, but did not give him his undivided attention, either. Wooyoung wondered if there had been something to what Yeosang had said that first night, that Seonghwa had grown bored of them, physically.

Regardless of any of that, the coven seemed to have a perfectly constructed equilibrium, and it thrilled Wooyoung to his bones that he was able to slip in so effortlessly, so easily, welcomed with open arms.

Feeding became easier, too. In time, he did not feel the desperate rush as he had at first. It was far more measured, and within a week, Wooyoung was drinking from a glass just as casually as the others did. He was still not ready to seek a familiar… was not sure he ever would be. It seemed that the familiars the coven kept were mostly for purposes other than feeding, from his observations, and Seonghwa paid them handsomely as employees.

Their little peaceful corner of the world, however, was shaken one evening when there was an uninvited guest. Mingi appeared in the foyer fast as lightning, just as Seonghwa had arrived there.

“It’s that hunter.” Mingi grunted, his disdain evident.

“I know, I can smell him.” Seonghwa assured with a quelling gesture. He glanced over when Yeosang approached with Wooyoung from the common room, the next room over. “You may as well go and fetch San.”

“I’m here.” He piped up from the top of the stairs, taking them down just as quickly as the others had moved. “Did I hear correctly? Is your favorite hunter here?”

“Quiet.” Seonghwa uttered in a flat voice, giving him a _look_ before opening the door. “Hongjoong-ah, to what do we owe this visit?”

“Don’t play coy with me. I’m willing to bet you know exactly why I’m here.” The hunter bit back with a sneer that didn’t match his pretty features.

Wooyoung peered at him from his place nearly behind Yeosang. He was dressed in all black—tactical gear—and armed to the teeth. His hair was bleached to a caramel color, styled in an undercut mullet… which Wooyoung _definitely_ didn’t grimace over. He didn’t think that particular trend would _ever_ come back into style, but clearly he wasn’t very imaginative.

“I assure you, we have no earthly idea… but you are welcome to indulge me, as you surely have been sanctioned if you are knocking on my door.” Seonghwa replied easily.

Hongjoong made a face, holding up the sanction. The vampire took it, eyes skimming over it swiftly. “A monster with a brain, look at you.”

“I have no knowledge of this vampire. His name is unfamiliar to me.” Seonghwa said dismissively, handing back the paper.

Hongjoong pocketed it in such a vitriolic manner that it crumpled messily into the pouch at the front of his vest. “Don’t imagine you’d admit to it if you did, of course. This vampire is a fugitive, wanted for the murder of three humans.”

“We don’t hide fugitives here, Hongjoong-ah. But please, help yourself.” Seonghwa replied, moving aside with a welcoming gesture.

Hongjoong stepped inside, glancing around like he was disgusted at even having to set foot _near_ their home, let alone _in_ it.

“The gang’s all here, I see.” His eyes fell upon Wooyoung, and he looked back to Seonghwa accusingly. “This one’s new.”

“Yes, his name is Wooyoung. Just turned a week or so past. The required paperwork has already been registered with the bureau.” Seonghwa explained.

Hongjoong grimaced, turning back to Wooyoung. “And did you consent? To them turning you?”

Wooyoung made a face. “I was dying. I was _going_ to die. I consented. I owe them my life.”

“An un-life.” Hongjoong bit back disdainfully, pushing past to make his way down the hall.

“Don’t mind him.” Yeosang told his fledgling. “Hunters don’t have much by way of personalities beyond ‘raging asshole’ or ‘beaurocrat with a gun’, and Hongjoong here is very much the former.”

“Fuck you, Princey.” Hongjoong called back from the hall.

Wooyoung’s brow furrowed at the nickname, and Yeosang waved it off. “My uncle was a king in the Joseon Era. Lifetimes ago.”

“Oh… you’re _old_.” Wooyoung murmured in fascination.

“And yet, still not as old as Seonghwa. He’s over a _thousand_.” San told him with a mischievous grin. “One of the oldest vampires still living, that we know of.”

“And what great pleasure it would bring me to end that bloated life of his.” Hongjoong drawled as he walked back into the room. “Your basement, is it open?”

“We have but a humble wine cellar, and yes.” Seonghwa corrected, pointing in the general direction of its entrance if only to be contrary. “And the only possibility of a cocky, upstart hunter such as yourself killing _me_ lies but in your dreams, dear Hongjoong-ah.”

“Every damn night.” Hongjoong grunted, moving past him to look for the cellar entrance.

“Oh, but you _do_ dream of me, then?” Seonghwa cooed.

“You two are disgusting. If you’re going to fuck each other, let us leave the room first.” Yeosang quipped.

“Not _even_ in his dreams.” Hongjoong bit back, pulling open the door tucked into the floor when he finally found it.

“Come now, don’t deny a vampire his dreams. Sometimes they’re all we have.” Seonghwa teased, grinning when the hunter glowered at him before he dropped down into the cellar to continue his investigation. There was a click of a flashlight, but otherwise, not another sound.

Wooyoung leaned over to Yeosang, whispering, “We _aren’t_ hiding any fugitives, are we?”

“Certainly not. Seonghwa has always been insistent that we follow the laws of humans, no matter how oppressive or ridiculous some of them may be.” Yeosang told him.

“Why?” Wooyoung asked, looking to Seonghwa.

“Had we not brokered those treaties, war would have ravaged the entire planet. We are stronger than humans, and longer-lived, but our numbers are few comparatively, and we require their blood to live.” Yeosang explained in the kind of tone that said he’d explained it many times before.

“I am… very tired of war.” Seonghwa murmured, and though his eyes were on the cellar entrance, his gaze was a thousand meters, a thousand _years_ away. “I have lived in this small country all my life, and still managed to see so much of it.”

After a long moment, he seemed to catch his thoughts drifting. He cleared his throat and turned back to his coven.

“Yeosang was a victim of the Qing-Japan War.” He explained, laying his right palm against the other vampire’s cheek. He moved to Mingi, then, pressing that same hand against his broad chest. “Mingi, of World War II.”

He continued to San, cupping his chin in his right hand and running his thumb over his cheek. “San, of the 625 Upheaval; the Korean War.”

Wooyoung watched as Seonghwa released San and approached him, running that same hand gently through Wooyoung’s fringe, brushing it back from his face. “And you… you were a victim of the longest war of all… the one humans have waged for as long as I have lived; the war against those who are different from them.”

Wooyoung swallowed. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t think there was anything _to_ be said.

“Had I the power to turn every victim of every human war from my creation ‘til now, I could have ruled the world.” Seonghwa said in a tone that showed his age; wisened and weary. “But, as it stands, I have only you four. And that is a world enough for me.”

The way he smiled then, melancholy but so terribly fond, made Wooyoung’s unbeating heart clench in his chest.

“All right, your cellar is clear.” Hongjoong grunted in a loud, disdainful voice as he climbed out of the floor and swatted at the door until it slammed closed. “And it really is just a bunch of damn wine down there. Can’t imagine why… it’s not as though human drink does you any good.”

“I enjoy the taste.” Seonghwa answered, unprompted.

“What were you expecting, a sex dungeon?” San goaded, making a face at the hunter.

Hongjoong scrunched up his nose. “No, just a regular one.”

“Boring.” San replied with a sigh.

“Anywhere else you need to sniff around before you get out of our house?” Mingi asked in a hard tone.

“Depends… you hiding anything—or anyone—here that would give me cause to kill every single one of you?” Hongjoong queried in too kind a voice.

“We aren’t in the Joseon Era anymore. They don’t kill your whole family when you break the law or transgress against the powers that be.” Seonghwa reminded him, as though he were regaling a history lesson.

“He only comes to us because we are easier targets.” Mingi spat. “If he were to walk into the other covens’ homes with such an attitude, he likely wouldn’t leave with his life. They’d eat him alive.”

“A monster who pretends to have manners is still a monster.” Hongjoong jeered.

“Don’t you ever tire of that bigoted rhetoric of yours?” San asked boredly.

“It’s kept me alive so far.” Hongjoong replied in too aloof a manner, pocketing his flashlight.

“Lucky for us.” San grumbled, but his eyes found the floor when Seonghwa gave him a chiding look.

“If you’re quite satisfied, Hongjoong-ah, will you be taking your leave?” Seonghwa queried in a genial tone. “Or perhaps I could offer you some of that wine?”

“Hard pass.” Hongjoong grunted, and made his way to the door with nothing further.

***

Hongjoong had been a vampire hunter since he was but sixteen, studying under his father. There were a few rules Hongjoong stuck to which had seen him survive where his father had not… don’t bite off what you can’t chew, and don’t get involved in vampire politics. Don’t get involved with vampires _period_ , save to run a stake through them.

That, of course, was just a myth. Stakes didn’t _actually_ kill vampires: you had to behead and burn them. Technology had gotten creative, of course, and ultraviolet light could do the trick in a pinch; but only prolonged exposure at a large levels. The first prototypes had caused little more than second-degree burns and resulted in _very_ angry vampires. Those who survived, adapted. The legacy of humanity in a single phrase.

It was, undoubtedly, a necessary thing.

By the numbers, humans would have won a war against vampires ten-fold. But, if there was one thing humanity was good at, it was survival. The powers that be knew that eternal life was too tempting a prospect for most to decline in the face of potential extinction, and after droves of humans went seeking out vampires to be turned, it was decided that peace should be brokered instead, and regulations set. Banning the acceptance of money in exchange for being turned prevented the rich and affluent from being the only ones with access to vampirism, and the education system saw to it that the affliction was demonized so that most would not seek it out, either.

Creation of the vampire blood supply system went into effect soon after, and registration of newly-turned vampires was required to keep a census of vampire numbers. They were kept small, a tiny minority across all the world, so that there would never come a day when they could confidently grow tired of humanity’s oppression and rise up against them. Those who did… usually young upstarts drunk on their new power, were swiftly dealt with via legal execution orders, which were carried out by those who called themselves vampire hunters.

Vampires were a small minority, and hunters of them even smaller. The job was considered fairly prestigious due to the inherent risk and high reward, and many former soldiers or mercenaries found new work in the field. There were even a few vampires who agreed to hunt their own kind, wishing to uphold the tenuous peace between themselves and humans. A vampire would have to have committed murder in order for a sanction to go out demanding their execution, so for many vampires, it was not an unreasonable thing.

Hongjoong had followed his father into the profession. He’d been a poor soldier who found renewed wealth in the occupation, something he’d needed to care for his son after his wife fell ill with a rare form of cancer. He had begged her to accept the blood of a vampire, to become a familiar, in order to stave off the disease. However, she refused, insisting that no monster’s blood would control her… and no vampire would give her their blood without her consent, not even under bribe or threat. Society had done too good a job of vilifying vampires in her eyes, and she died a shell of herself in a hospital bed when all the chemotherapy and alternative treatments failed.

And so, Hongjoong was motherless. His mother became the profession when he joined his father on his hunts, learning from who he could proudly claim he believed was the best. She was a cruel matriarch, however, and no sooner than he’d turned twenty that his father was taken from him by a vampire who fought back too fiercely. His father had protected him, but in the end, it was another vampire who slayed the monster who had killed his father, while he watched. That vampire who hunted vampires, who so kindly offered to give him a place in their coven, should he have need of it. Hongjoong was disgusted, insulted by the very suggestion. His father had left him plenty: a base, which they called their home, and a reliable weaponsmith. It was all he needed, he told himself, and that was that.

Hongjoong entered that base just as countless times before, tossing his gear onto the long metal table laid out near the entrance. His weapons tech, Yunho, was seated across the room, stuffing his face with japchae with his eyes glued to a computer screen, as they often were. He slurped down the mouthful currently on his chopsticks, then set them down.

“Judging by your sour expression, I’m gonna guess you _didn’t_ find the target.”

“Oh no, I _found_ him, but he’s with the fucking Powers, which means this is a dead fucking end.” Hongjoong growled, all but ripping off his vest and belt. “Where’s Jongho?”

“Right here, chill out, I have to piss sometime.” Jongho bit back from the end of the hallway, standing on crutches. His entire left leg was in a cast, the result of a fractured tibia when a vampire on a hunt some weeks back threw him off the roof of a, thankfully small, building, right into a dumpster. “So, what, we weren’t planning on just dropping everything and jetting halfway across the country to go knock down the Coven of Power’s door?”

“Funny.” Hongjoong muttered flatly, throwing himself down into one of the smaller sofas.

Jongho sat across from him, propping his leg up with a sigh. “Well, a bad hunt is better than no hunt. I’m going stir-crazy here. Yunho’s shit company.”

“What’s wrong with my company?” Yunho asked around a mouthful of noodles, sounding hurt.

“Nothing, you’ve just spent the last three days with your nose in your forge and only come out to eat and blow up the bathroom.” Jongho whined, grabbing his dagger off the table next to him and fiddling with it absently. “Have you even slept? Other than last night, when you passed out on the couch for two hours?”

“Look, I’m getting close with this prototype.” Yunho reasoned. “It’s gonna make both your jobs easier. Well, after Jongho recovers.”

“You won’t finish it if you’re not getting sleep. Or you’ll blow yourself up trying. So just… get some rest, hm?” Hongjoong chided.

“That’s rich coming from you, hyung. You once stayed up for four days straight while tracking a vampire. Then you slept for almost a whole twenty-four hours after.” Yunho reminded him. “So don’t judge me.”

“Listen, if I fuck up, I die. If you fuck up, you could blow this whole place to hell with yourself, me, and Jongho along with it.” Hongjoong countered. “And besides, this isn’t a negotiation. Sleep, get a decent amount of it. Tonight. I can’t move forward on this hunt until the target leaves the protection of the Powers anyway so we’re at a stalemate there regardless.”

“But—”

“Sleep.” Hongjoong groaned, drawing out the word in his annoyance.

“You don’t own me, you know.” Yunho grumbled, pouting as he finished off his noodles. “My dad worked for your dad, both of them are dead now, and so I work for you. But you aren’t my keeper.”

“I’m your hyung.” Hongjoong retorted. “And I _do_ pay you, which makes me your boss, so. I’m failing to see your argument here.”

“Fine, but I have dishes to do first.” Yunho grumbled.

“No, we have a dishwasher.” Hongjoong snapped. At the confused looks he received, he motioned to his protege. “His name is Jongho. Not like he’s good at much else these days, our injured bird.”

“Hey, fuck you!” Jongho huffed.

It was a weird little family, but it was his, and Hongjoong figured things could have ended up a lot worse.

***

There were few things Hongjoong hated more than losing out on a target… and he wasn’t known for his lack of tenacity. So, after spreading the right rumors and laying the right bait, he got his target to come out of hiding just long enough for him to free him of his head, burn him to a crisp and send his ashes off to the committee. There were few things more satisfying than a completed hunt, and getting one up on the Powers definitely made it all the sweeter.

Sanctions, though, were coming less and less these days, it seemed. Hongjoong found it hard to believe that vampires were following the laws to a greater degree… no. The more likely answer was that they were simply becoming better at _hiding_ their transgressions. The Coven of Power was outward with its numbers, always kept at the maximum allowed by the treaties, but Hongjoong had to wonder just how many clans remained underground, and how great their numbers might be. It wasn’t unreasonable to surmise that even the Powers kept more vampires than was legally allowed because no hunter or committee bureaucrat would have the guts to step foot on their compound to check. Drone surveillance only did so much.

Would that Hongjoong could find the numbers to burst in there for a random count, and find something amiss. Few things would bring him greater joy than taking down that clan, one he believed was an uprising waiting to happen.

But, as it stood, he dealt mostly with rogue vampires these days; people who had been turned and chose to defect from whatever clan had turned them, or worse, black-market deals turning people into vampires who had no right to be. It was illegal to pay to receive vampirism, but that didn’t stop people from doing it. Most of the oldest covens knew better, and wouldn’t dare consider it lest they be sanctioned. Not to mention, most vampires had money enough as it was. Living long lives and being incapable of falling ill had its advantages, and most of them accumulated fair amounts of wealth over their lengthy lifetimes.

When he returned from his hunt, he must have looked in a better mood than the last time, because Yunho and Jongho perked right up, the latter speaking.

“You get the bastard?”

“Damn right I did.” Hongjoong replied, grinning wide as he bit his bottom lip, wagging his eyebrows. “We feast tonight, boys.”

It was tradition to share a big meal after a successful hunt, and Hongjoong called in an order to one of their favorite take-out places, being sure to get plenty of beef and soju.

The three of them were well into the soju when a loud ping resounded on Yunho’s computer.

“Another sanction? Already? That’s atypical.” Hongjoong perked up.

“Agreed.” Yunho murmured, sliding his wheelie chair over to his computer and typing away. He listed off the vampire’s name, last whereabouts and crimes, as well as a few other details. “Under ‘known affiliations’, it just has the ‘Blacklight Coven’.”

“Blacklight? No, we don’t fuck with Blacklight. They’re all women.” Hongjoong told him.

Yunho’s brow furrowed. “So?”

“Oh, I can’t _wait_ to hear your explanation for this.” Jongho said, settling in with another glass of soju.

“It’s simple; I don’t kill women.” Hongjoong explained.

“Why?” Yunho asked.

“Because they’re… women.” Hongjoong answered, letting out a frustrated huff when he was stared at as though he had two heads. “I don’t know! It’s just, not a thing I do.”

“But why though?” Yunho pressed. “I mean, I understand not killing human women, maybe, because they could theoretically create life, but that logic—which is incredibly flawed, by the way, because not all women can have children and not all people who can have children are women—that logic kind of falls apart with vampires because they can’t have children, at all.”

“It’s not about children! Probably! I don’t fucking know!” Hongjoong floundered.

“I mean, arguably, if they’re doing just as much murdering as a male vampire, aren’t you being sexist?” Yunho murmured.

“You know, this makes no sense. You’re not even straight! You told me that one time we got blitzed in downtown that you preferred men!” Jongho shouted, slamming down his glass. “How’d you end up with such an hetero-alpha-male bullshit mentality like that?”

“I don’t fucking know! My dad never did it, so I never did it!”

“Oh of course, it all comes back to the father figure. Then again, maybe it’s because they remind you of your mom?” Jongho suggested. “I know that’s a sore subject.”

“Yes. Every woman, _ever_ , reminds me of my mother.” Hongjoong bit back sarcastically.

“You should probably seek therapy.” Yunho recommended helpfully.

Hongjoong sighed, knowing this was an argument he wasn’t going to win, but they still couldn’t make him take the damn job.

***

Not taking the job ended up being a mistake if only because another didn’t come in for weeks. Hongjoong was going a little stir-crazy, and it was causing him to lash out at his partners. He must have cleaned his weapons a dozen times, reorganized his entire knife collection and mended every single damaged article of clothing he owned (which was, decidedly, a lot, given his line of work). Business being slow was arguably good in a sense, but it was hell for him.

They were going on week three when emotions seemed to come to a head. Hongjoong was too wound up… he was draped over the sofa in the common area of the base, reading a book about vampire coven alliances over the years. His attention, however, was consistently being drawn to Yunho, who was at his computer across the room. He would type loudly for a few moments, click around, then let out a too-loud laugh before repeating the whole process again. And again. And _again_.

Finally, he couldn't take it. He stood, crossing the room and slamming his book down on his desk. His weaponsmith nearly hit the ceiling for how high he jumped.

“What in the fresh hell are you _doing_ , Jeong Yunho?” Hongjoong snarled in irritation, trying to get a look at his computer.

“What the fuck, hyung?” Jongho chided from his place on the floor where he was stretching, trying to keep his muscles limber while his leg healed.

“It’s just tech humor, you wouldn’t get it.” Yunho replied in a small voice, once he felt like his heart wasn’t beating in his ears.

“Tech humor. Shouldn’t you be smithing something?” Hongjoong spat.

“I was conferring with some other engineers I know about something related to that, actually.” Yunho told him. “We just got distracted.”

“Distracted. Of course.” Hongjoong said, picking his book back up.

Something showed on his face, because Jongho went very still, his tone quelling. “Hyung…”

“You see this? You know what this is?” Hongjoong condescended, waving the thing in his face until its pages flapped mockingly. “It’s a _book_ ! They’re best read without distractions! And you know, it wouldn’t fucking _kill you_ to pick one of these up every once in a while, instead of plastering your face to your computer!”

“Why would I read when there are YouTube channels dedicated to telling vampiric history in a way that isn’t so boring that I want to claw my eyes out?” Yunho countered. “I can listen and forge. If I’m reading, I can’t make you new weapons.”

“He has a point…” Jongho sing-songed.

“Oh please, let’s not pretend that Yunho would ever willingly read regardless.” Hongjoong scoffed.

“Listen, just because you haven’t had any vamps to kill in the last few weeks doesn’t mean you need to take it out on us.” Yunho huffed. “You need to take a walk or something.”

“No, you know what? Fuck this, I’m going out.” Hongjoong snarled, throwing on a bare minimum of gear just in case.

He had no idea where he was going, or what he planned to do, but he knew he had to get out of that house before he strangled one of them. He jumped onto his bike and headed into the city, because something about being surrounded by all the people and the noise seemed like a good idea. He needed the distraction, needed to get out of his own head.

Their base wasn’t far from downtown Seoul, so he arrived quickly enough. He parked his bike in a side-street near an establishment which he was well-known to; one which catered to hunters. The nightlife was always bright and bustling in Seoul, but it almost seemed as if it doubled after the existence of vampires came to light. Clubs which had once operated exclusively underground were now able to conduct business publically, and more cropped up in their wake. Even human businessmen tried to get their hands into new ventures surrounding vampires.

Hongjoong couldn’t imagine it… wanting to work with vampires under amicable circumstances. They were liable to turn on you at a moment’s notice, if his hunts had taught him anything. All the covens with their stuffy elder vampires claimed to be above it all while drinking _human_ blood from crystal wine glasses as though that made them less monstrous. He knew the truth. At the end of the day, a vampire was a predator, and humans were their prey. It was dangerous business trying to live in harmony with a creature like that.

The city did wonders to drive away his restlessness, though. He wandered the streets, grabbed a drink, hit up a few of his usual haunts for leads or rumors (nothing too exciting, sadly). He was in a far better mood by the time he decided to head back to his bike. He cut down his usual street when he heard footfalls approaching, and fast.

Hongjoong was nearly bowled over when a pretty blond boy came darting out of a nearby alley, lip split and oozing blood, a fresh shiner forming around one eye. The boy collided with him and ended up on his ass on the pavement, looking up at him as if he was processing the world around him, as though he’d just been torn from a nightmare and had no idea where he was.

Hongjoong leaned forward, offering a hand. But the boy recoiled, scrambling back and clambering to his feet, his face stricken with terror before darting away. He’d looked at him as though _he_ were the terrifying one. He was wearing his gear, of course, all in black… but he shouldn’t have looked intimidating to a human.

He looked down the street the boy had come from. There was a cacophony of shouts, shrill screams, pained cries. And then, silence. He bolted down the street, grabbing for his blade.

He could hear voices, speaking softly, as he drew nearer to a dank little alley in the middle of two buildings. They seemed vaguely familiar, in the way dreams sometimes felt like faraway memories. When he reached the alley, a horrible sight met him, and the world seemed to fall silent.

There was a cluster of three vampires all in black off in one corner, their faces hidden by shadow. But before him, at the center of alley, was a gruesome scene. There were seven men lying in a bloody heap, forming a macabre, imperfect circle around a man standing there in the middle of them all.

But it wasn’t a man at all, no. As he wiped his wrist against his mouth, blood smearing across his lips, Hongjoong recognized him. It was the newest turned vampire of Seonghwa’s coven.

It was Wooyoung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger. I have more coming soon, promise!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did promise.

It had been weeks since Wooyoung was turned.

Things seemed to fall into place in ways Wooyoung never would have expected. He found he was  _ allowing _ himself things, hiding away in one of the recreation rooms to practice dancing, or bothering Mingi to teach him some hand-to-hand combat in the hopes his night terrors would ebb if he knew he had the power to fight back. He found himself enjoying midnight swims with San, who happily talked his ear off about any and all subjects. He found himself sitting at the grand piano in the music room, tapping at the keys with a hazy familiarity from childhood, messing up more notes than he was getting right, only to have Seonghwa sit beside him and offer a guiding hand.

He found himself at the center of a beautiful, welcoming family, and he was more grateful than words could describe.

But, admittedly, he was getting a little claustrophobic.

He hadn’t left the mansion since being brought there, and he was starting to feel a familiar itch to go out, to be around  _ people _ , to find himself in the crush of a crowd and too-loud music and drink. He missed the nightlife. He missed clubbing.

He wasn’t sure how to broach the subject, but decided to start with Yeosang. He was his sire, after all, and he’d been more than accommodating about everything else.

As the weeks had gone on, he hadn’t been attaching himself at Wooyoung’s hip quite as much, but he was never far, and never seemed to be busying himself with anything that would appear as more important should Wooyoung have need of him. He wondered if it was on purpose—he wanted to believe it was, believe the other cared that much about his feelings—but it wasn’t something he could ask about.

He found Yeosang in the library, sprawled out on a chaise lounge with four or five books spread out and open on the floor below him. He had a large leather journal in his lap which he was writing in, but he looked up the moment Wooyoung stood in the doorway, as though what he was working on was of no consequence. He set his pen down, next to a half-empty glass of blood on the table behind him.

“Wooyoung, what is it?” His tone was kind, indulgent… as if he was not bothered in the slightest by the intrusion. At the questioning look he received in response, he chuckled softly. “There was a certain purpose to your gait, as though you hadn’t simply happened by.”

“Ah.” Wooyoung murmured. Damn, he was perceptive. Were all vampires over a hundred that perceptive? He stepped into the room, careful of the books as he made his way toward the chaise. “What are you working on?”

“Correcting revisionist history.” Yeosang told him, lips curling up into an amused smile. “So often history is written by the victors. There are… an incredible number of incorrect accounts of the Japanese invasions during the end of the Joseon Era, so I’ve set to documenting my account of things.”

“That sounds… daunting.” Wooyoung responded, eyes tracking over all the books.

“Oh, not really. It’s quite amusing, actually.” Yeosang said. “When asked for a source, I simply have to write, ‘I was there’.”

Wooyoung laughed so loud he felt the need to cover his mouth, and Yeosang smiled up at him in that fond way of his.

“See, I knew you’d find that funny.” He replied. He set his journal aside, holding out a beckoning hand to the other. “Come, then, tell me what troubles you.”

Wooyoung slid his hand into Yeosang’s, the elder guiding him over the books and pulling him onto the chaise, into his lap. The furniture was large enough to accommodate the both of them, so he turned until he was facing the other, his legs draped over Yeosang’s. He’d never let go of Wooyoung’s hand, and played with his fingers idly as he waited for him to speak.

“I’m not exactly… troubled.” Wooyoung murmured, looking down. “I think I’m just getting antsy, is all. I used to go out dancing a lot… clubbing, downtown. It was kind of like my home, my community, since I… didn’t really have a family, you know?”

“You miss it.” Yeosang responded in a low voice, flatly not a question.

“Yeah, I do. This coven, this family is something I didn’t think I’d ever have, and it’s amazing, I’m so thankful, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful—”

Yeosang let out a soft laugh, shaking his head. “Wooyoung, you aren’t being ungrateful for asking to go out.”

“But I—” Wooyoung felt his words die in his throat when Yeosang took hold of his chin, lifting his face so he was forced to meet his eyes. The expression he saw there was not irritation or annoyance… just fond amusement.

“I told you when you first came here that you weren’t required to live with the coven… but I suppose I neglected to tell you that, once you decided to stay, this place isn’t a prison. That was my error.” Yeosang said in that same low tone as before. “If you want to go out, of course you may. In fact, San loves to go to downtown. He can take you around to all the best vampire clubs.”

“Oh… really?” Wooyoung asked, eyes lighting up.

“He lives for the nightlife, you’ll find.” Yeosang told him with a grin. “And you won’t always need to have an escort with you if you want to go out, but I think until you’re familiar with the  _ vampire _ nightlife downtown, you should have at least one of us with you.”

“Would you come?” Wooyoung tried, his tone earnest. “If I asked, would you?”

“Of course. I’m sure Seonghwa would want to come along too, for your first time.” Yeosang replied. “We can make a night of it, the four of us. Mingi isn’t much for clubs, he’d likely rather stay back at the mansion.”

“All right.” Wooyoung said, starting to feel the excitement edging up his spine.

“You know,” Yeosang began, giving him a sort of chiding look, “You needn’t be so worried about asking me for things. I’d be hard pressed to find something in this world I would feel fit to deny you.”

Wooyoung would have doubted it, but when Yeosang leaned in and pressed a feather-light kiss to his forehead, he knew he should believe it.

***

After discussing everything with the others, it was decided they would go out the very next night, after a good sleep. San was delighted, absolutely insistent on helping Wooyoung pick out his accessories and claiming he had plenty to lend,  _ decades worth _ , if he felt like his own weren’t sufficient. Mingi, predictably, opted to stay home, preferring the solitude to a night out. He claimed he was working on some research that Seonghwa had tasked him with, anyway, and would be thankful for the peace and quiet. Seonghwa himself was surprisingly amicable and readily agreed to come along. Yeosang assumed it was because it would be Wooyoung’s introduction to the vampire nightlife and his old blood garnered him a certain respect, which would ensure everything went smoothly.

Yeosang was thrilled, too… he didn’t have quite as much disdain for the loud and rowdy vampire clubs as Seonghwa did, and he was eager to spend a night out with someone he could introduce to the right places, the right people. 

Two hours before they were planning to head out, San dragged Wooyoung into his room and absolutely  _ fussed _ over what they would wear, which mostly consisted of Wooyoung sprawled out on the bed watching while San changed into sixty different outfits, changing up the accessories each time. Finally, he settled on a loose black top adorned with burgundy sequined stripes and a pair of tight black jeans that had more holes in them than fabric. He topped it off with a thin burgundy choker and more bracelets than seemed reasonable, but Wooyoung wasn’t going to judge.

San had a massive vanity with a mirror—the whole ‘vampires can’t see their reflections’ rumor was Christian propaganda, entirely false—and far more makeup than someone with flawless skin really needed. He did an elaborate eyeshadow look for himself, then did a simple smokey eye for Wooyoung, adding just a touch of glitter because “It’s your vampire nightlife debut, you deserve to stand out!”

Realizing the time, San shoved Wooyoung back to his room so he could finish getting ready. San hadn’t picked out shoes, though, so he had a little time. Wooyoung tossed a few of his favorite looks out onto the bed, eyeing them critically. All his clothes had been brought over from his old apartment by the coven’s familiars, and it had never been this well-organized before. It was a little daunting to have so many options, between what he had and what the coven had provided for him.

He was still in his pajamas, full face of makeup on, when he heard two gentle raps at his door.

“It’s open!” He called, sounding a little strung out as he eliminated another potential outfit choice. His door creaked open and there stood Yeosang, already dressed and prepared to go out.

Wooyoung hazarded a glance. Yeosang was wearing crimson leather pants that were so fitted that they looked painted on, with a black silk shirt cut far too low to be considered decent. He had the nerve to wear a goddamn  _ choker  _ with it, black velvet two fingers wide. Just like San, he’d gone for a heavier makeup look, with dark liner and smoked shadow in deep burgundy. Highlighter shimmered at the apples of his cheeks, but his birthmark was on full display; he wasn’t wearing foundation or concealer. He looked  _ devastating _ . Wooyoung may have choked on air.

“O-oh, seems like everyone’s ready but me, I’m sorry.” He stuttered, fussing a bit with the clothes he had laid out on his bed. “I was helping San, and—”

“That’s all right, San can be quite distracting. I actually wanted to bring this to you, anyway.” Yeosang told him, holding up a hanger. Draped upon it was a satiny lilac shirt, similar to the one he had been wearing the night he…

The night he… 

Wooyoung didn’t want to finish the thought. “Is that—?”

“Yours couldn’t be salvaged, I’m afraid. So I ordered you another. I hope that’s all right.” Yeosang said, holding it out for him. “It’s a lovely color on you.”

Wooyoung’s heart did that thing in his chest again, where it clenched up despite that it wasn’t even beating, knocking the wind out of unbreathing lungs. “No it’s… it’s more than all right. Thank you so much.”

He took it, feeling the slick fabric against his fingertips. His had been a bargain bin knockoff (he was proud of his thrifting skills, thank you very much) but this was the real thing; designer, judging by the fancy tag poking out from the collar.

“I’ll let you finish getting ready, then.” Yeosang told him, offering a smile and a little wave as he closed the door behind him.

Wooyoung didn’t even have to think. He wore the shirt, pairing it with a belt choker and a pair of matte leather pants with quilted patterns down the front. His favorite pastel floral combat boots finished the look. A little grunge, a little soft. Exactly his style.

He threw his hair back out of his face with a bit of styling spray before heading out into the living room. San and Yeosang were already waiting, and when Wooyoung approached, Seonghwa wasn’t far behind. He was dressed in all black, in creased slacks and a high-collared shirt that was mostly made of transparent black organza with thin satin stripes making it only about halfway toward decent coverage. It was paired with a black blazer belted at the waist but open down the entire front. He had a silver cross dangling from a chain on his neck, and San regarded it with a roll of his eyes.

“Crosses, again, really? You’re so contrary.”

“I can’t help that it amuses me to remind Christians that eighty percent of the things they touted as our weaknesses for centuries are complete fabrications.” Seonghwa replied with a dismissive shrug.

Wooyoung hummed thoughtfully. “I remember learning in school that none of those things from fiction even worked. Silver, wooden stakes, garlic…”

“To be fair, humans were working off of inconsistent myths, varying cultural legends, sensationalized rumors and a healthy dose of theology-based fear-mongering.” Yeosang responded.

A long whistle rang through the foyer, and the four of them looked up to see Mingi standing by the overlook upstairs.

“Heading out? Well doesn’t everyone look killer diller, almost makes me regret staying in.” Mingi said with a wink, meeting them at the base of the stairs. “Cut a rug for me.”

“Thank you for constantly reminding me you were born in the 20’s and that your brain has firmly remained there.” San quipped with a roll of his eyes.

“San, you were born in the 30’s. The first time we met you called me ‘daddy-o’.” Mingi countered.

Wooyoung snorted a laugh, covering his mouth when he saw Yeosang look over at him with a mischievous little grin.

“And now I call you a straight fucking snack. It’s called character development.” San retorted. “Anyway… are we leaving? Can we leave?”

“Yes, we can leave.” Seonghwa assured, looking to Yeosang. “We’ll take the Levante, it has the most room. Will you bring it around while I take care of something?”

Yeosang nodded, tossing his head toward the door to indicate the other two should follow.

“Front seat!” San piped up, running ahead of them by a few paces.

“You know,” Mingi called after them, “Over in America they call ‘shotgun’, because back in the day of stage-coaches, the man at the driver’s side was always armed, ready for assault from bandits.”

“That sounds like something you just made up.” Wooyoung goaded incredulously, looking back over his shoulder at the other.

“No, it’s true! I heard it from one of the American soldiers back during the war. He drove our Jeep.” Mingi replied defensively.

“Uh huh, sure you did.” San teased, giving Wooyoung a look that had them both giggling like idiots.

Seonghwa seemed to wait patiently for Mingi to decide he wasn’t going to do anything further than huff in annoyance before turning to him and speaking in a hushed tone. Wooyoung couldn’t hear much; there was mention of ‘looking into’ something Seonghwa had ‘asked about’, Mingi said that he had ‘nothing yet’ had ‘reached a dead end’ but before he knew it they were at the door and Yeosang was guiding him outside before he could catch anything further.

Yeosang took them down to the underground garage (because  _ of course _ they had one of those) and had them climb into a luxury crossover in gunmetal gray with blacked-out windows. San jumped into the passenger’s seat, already fiddling with the radio. It was a decently long drive, so a good playlist was going to be essential, or so he claimed.

After pulling the car around front, Yeosang moved to the back, sliding in next to Wooyoung as Seonghwa got in on the driver’s side. 

“Let’s get it!” San shouted, blaring some trendy new EDM hit so loudly that the speakers vibrated. Seonghwa allowed it for all of four seconds before turning down the volume to a reasonable level.

“And that’s enough of that.” He murmured, rolling his eyes as he pulled out onto the main road.

With the music low enough, they were able to just chat idly on the drive, as there really wasn’t much else to do anyway. San went on and on about all the different clubs, their owners, the absolute mess of drama that had occurred when human investors started trying to buy up and buy out vampires in their own establishments… it was a disaster, apparently. There was also a vampire BDSM club, which San went on about  _ at length _ and used as a not-so-subtle way of wedging a question about Wooyoung’s preferences into the mix. Seonghwa chided him, complaining that he was as subtle as a bull in a china shop.

“I never claimed to be subtle. I’m just horrendously curious.” San admitted shamelessly, tipping his seat back as far as it would go, until the top of it was virtually in Wooyoung’s lap. He had to forego his seatbelt, pick his legs up and scoot closer to Yeosang just to not get crushed.

“I don’t really know. I’m a pretty flexible person, so I feel like I’d try just about anything for a partner, if they asked. But I’d have to trust them, you know?” Wooyoung answered with a shrug.

“Oh my god, you’re so cute. We are gonna have so much fun with you.” San sing-songed, practically beaming.

“San.” Seonghwa uttered, a warning.

“I meant in general!” San huffed, but it was clear that he was scheming.

The last half-hour of the trip was spent deadlocked in a rock-paper-scissors battle over who got to pick the last song. San threw an absolute fit when Seonghwa had the audacity to lift a hand and throw out scissors to steal the game.

“Put your hand back on that wheel or so help me!” San argued. “We agreed you weren’t allowed to play anymore because of your stupid precognitive nonsense!”

“It’s not precognition, I just perceive things quickly.” Seonghwa corrected. “I can’t see the future.”

“No, but you can tell by the way our wrist moves or the sound of the freaking air displacement or whatever the hell else just what we’re gonna throw out.” San retorted. “Which is basically the same.”

“We did agree you were banned from rock-paper-scissors back in the 80’s.” Yeosang reminded him. “There was a coven vote.”

“I lead the coven! Surely I can veto!” Seonghwa countered.

Wooyoung, who had settled himself longways across the seat so that San could leave his own ludicrously reclined, giggled from where his head was comfortably cradled in Yeosang’s lap.

“We agreed to revisit in a hundred years, after Mingi and San had more time to get used to their heightened senses.” Yeosang replied. “You don’t remember any of this?”

“I may have… selectively ignored it.” Seonghwa admitted. “You can’t ban me from rock-paper-scissors. I’m Korean. How am I supposed to make any life-altering decisions?”

Wooyoung burst out laughing again. “He has a point.”

“Oh, thank goodness. If it comes to a mutiny, at least I’ll have one person on my side.” Seonghwa intoned in an overly-dramatic lilt.

Yeosang gave a scoff of a gasp, running his hand through Wooyoung’s hair. “You’d take  _ his _ side over mine? Over your sire’s?”

“That is low, Yeosang. Even for you.” Seonghwa uttered gravely. “Have pity on him, he’s a fledgling. He still thinks you hung the moon. He’ll learn soon enough.”

Wooyoung probably should have been a little more concerned at being tugged into the middle of things while they bantered, but honestly, he didn’t even mind. He ended up chewing on his bottom lip just to not burst out laughing again, and San hijacked the stereo and played whatever the hell he wanted as though that wasn’t his plan all along anyway.

It wasn’t long after that when they were approaching the heart of downtown. Seonghwa parked the vehicle at an underground lot owned by a fellow vampire, and spent the walk to the nightclub explaining how public transportation was a bit of a point of contention between humans and vampires so, by and large, vampires did not utilize it much. Taxis would often not take vampires as customers, crowded buses and trains were a disaster waiting to happen… it just made more sense for vampires to drive themselves, and businesses cropped up around the need.

Downtown Seoul was bustling, even in the tiny corner of it that vampires had taken a slice of for themselves. There were few clubs that were welcoming to vampires, or vampire-run, so it was hard to accommodate everyone. As they approached  _ Blood Moon _ , the club Seonghwa had claimed was the most renowned in the country, Wooyoung could see that the line wrapped around the block, roped off with red velvet swags. They walked right past, however, right up to the front, and the bouncer just gave a nod of recognition to Seonghwa before letting them in.

The din of the club hit Wooyoung as soon as they made it through the door. The loud music, the thumping bass vibrating the walls, the fog of cigarette smoke and vape steam. It was a different feeling, now, in some ways… the way his heightened senses picked up small details he may not have ever noticed before. And yet, it was very much the same, the way the atmosphere set his skin alight, how he felt it down in his bones, that urge to move, to dance. He was itching for it already, his shoulders automatically swaying a little. San giggled at his enthusiasm and grabbed his arm, dancing in place with him for a few seconds before they fell behind and had to run to catch up to the others.

Seonghwa spoke with a devastatingly handsome man in a suit for a few moments before they made their way to one of the VIP booths, tucked away into a far corner. It was secluded enough that there was a fraction of the noise, but they could all still easily see the bar, DJ booth, the cage dancers, the light shows, the ebb and flow of bodies on the dance floor as they moved in time with the beat. There was a second bar near the VIP area, apparently only for the elites. Wooyoung had never been to a club under such circumstances; he usually went just to let loose, get drunk, get  _ laid _ , escape the lull of the everyday.

“Anything for you two at all? You seem prepared to dive right in.” Seonghwa asked in an amused tone, raising an eyebrow as he sat next to Yeosang. The booth was one large semicircle, with a pole and small platform in the center. Something told him that the two elder vampires would have been utterly bored by the idea of a dancer trying to entertain them by strutting around it… the thought was honestly amusing.

San was the one who flung himself onto the pole, then, however, teasingly twirling around it with practiced ease. “Nope, nothing for us. We’ll see you geezers later.”

He didn’t even give any further warning before grabbing Wooyoung by his wrist and dragging him toward the dance floor… not that he had any objections. He offered a wave to Yeosang, who smiled in amusement and waved right back, not looking away until someone came by with their drinks some minutes later.

“Now don’t you hold back on me, I  _ know _ you can dance.” San goaded, letting go of Wooyoung only to wave a finger at him.

“Oh, I only ever dance with my all.” Wooyoung scoffed, offering a toothy smile at San’s impressed laugh.

Dancing with San was fun,  _ he _ was fun, in a way that his old friend groups weren’t. San had a certain enthusiasm to him, but it was tempered by experience and a smoldering confidence that Wooyoung couldn’t help but admire. He seemed entirely unfazed when complete strangers came up and started dancing with him, some even commenting that it had been too long since they’d seen him. Wooyoung wondered if maybe San was popular in this scene. It wouldn’t have surprised him in the least.

Once San’s attention was pulled away from him, Wooyoung felt a little out of his depth. Dancing, clubbing… those were things he was very good at. But… among humans. Here, among vampires, he was a fledgling; new to the life, the scene, this place… everything. He felt as though every eye were on him, judging. He was used to drawing attention with his dancing; he did, after all, know how to move. But this was different. These people were watching him with the same kind of hunger as a predator stalking its prey.

The song that was playing didn’t end so much as it shifted, from an upbeat EDM track to a slower, sexier one with heavy base and a sultry undertone. The crush of dancers shifted with it, moving in a sort of rolling cadence like waves against the shore. Wooyoung loved this song, and it wasn’t long before he found himself lost to it, forgetting the world around him for just a brief moment as he let the music move him.

San was comfortably wedged between two gorgeous vampires, looking at the one in front of him as though he’d forgotten Wooyoung existed. Wooyoung let his eyes wander back to the VIP booth. He could see Seonghwa and Yeosang across the club, watching them. They looked less like vampires watching their sired and more like dominants watching their submissives, a certain edge to their stares that spoke to both expectation and curiosity. Perhaps even desire.  _ That _ was an interesting thought to be explored later…  _ later _ , because right now, the crush of the crowd was distractingly close and San was  _ too _ into it and he didn’t seem to notice—or perhaps he simply wasn’t concerned—that several of the strangers around them were looking at Wooyoung as though they were ready to pounce on and devour him.

It was daunting… and a little overwhelming. Through the haze of people he saw Yeosang stand, lay a hand on Seonghwa’s shoulder and say something brief to him before stepping away from their booth. Wooyoung’s attention was called from him when he felt someone crowd in on him at his right, but when he shrunk away, someone was on his left as well, the looks on their faces entirely predatory. He bared his teeth, ready to make a scene if he had to, but suddenly they were backing away. He felt someone familiar at his back, and realized why.

“You don’t need to be afraid of them.” Yeosang murmured against his ear. He was a solid presence against him, then, pressing in close and sliding his hands over his hips. “You are just as much a vampire as they are… and you have the coven behind you.”

“Why are they looking at me like that?” Wooyoung asked, sounding a little breathless despite his inherent lack of need for air.

“Come with me.” Yeosang told him, pulling him gingerly through the crowd until they made their way back to the VIP booth.

Seonghwa watched him curiously before his gaze found Yeosang. “None of us told him, did we?”

“No.” Yeosang admitted as he sat, pulling Wooyoung into the space between him and Seonghwa. “That was on me. I take responsibility.”

“Told me what?” Wooyoung asked, taking a glass from Seonghwa when he offered it. He wasn’t even winded from dancing, which was a new and exciting prospect, but he still felt the need for a drink out of habit.

“For the first year, fledgling vampires have very potent-tasting blood. They can smell it on you, and that’s why they were so eager to taste.” Yeosang explained. “The blood of old vampires is like a heavily distilled liquor; it goes down smooth and hits hard. But fledgling blood is strong, like a… good tequila.”

Wooyoung gave a wry look at the tequila in the glass he was holding. How apropos. “Great, so I can’t dance out there without feeling like I’m a piece of meat?”

“San was  _ supposed _ to stay close, but he’s easily distracted. I will stay with you, in his stead.” Yeosang told him. “I know I am a  _ geezer _ in comparison, but, hopefully you won’t find my company too off-putting to enjoy yourself fully.”

Wooyoung gave him a look, setting down his glass. “Do you even believe that bullshit you’re spewing?”

Yeosang threw his head back with a laugh. “I only meant compared to San. You two seem to get along rather well.”

“Yeosang  _ is  _ actually quite humble, as hard as it is to believe.” Seonghwa added helpfully. “I’d like to think I had something to do with it, but… it’s always been his nature.”

“All right, enough of that. Wooyoung came here to dance.” Yeosang piped up, standing. “Try not to be too bored all by yourself.”

“I’ve lived for over a thousand years, I can handle an hour without interacting with you all.” Seonghwa replied with a roll of his eyes. “Go enjoy yourselves.”

“One day, I’ll get you back out there.” Yeosang said like a promise, pointing at the other.

“Mm, perish the thought.” Seonghwa mumbled, motioning for another drink.

Yeosang and Wooyoung took their leave, the former offering a mocking little wink as they went.

Once Wooyoung was back out on the floor, with Yeosang with him, he didn’t have nearly the same reception. They seemed to respect the older vampire, the smell of him… or perhaps it was the deadly look in his eyes whenever anyone would venture too close. Either way, Wooyoung felt all his tension bleed away, felt himself lost to the music again, well and truly enjoying himself.

They danced for what felt like hours, until he felt drunk on it, his skin humming with something like adrenaline. Yeosang’s company was  _ more _ than enjoyable; he moved against him with a sort of familiarity, as though he could read his body, his movements, and offer his own as a perfect counterpoint. San disappeared from the floor for a little while, indulging in a drink and a little something else, begging Seonghwa for just a shot of his blood until the elder vampire gave in, cutting into his own wrist to allow the other a small taste. After more songs than Wooyoung had bothered to count, San came over and joined them before it was suggested they should probably gather Seonghwa and take their leave before the elder vampire died of boredom. His face seemed impassive enough from across the room, but it was clear he was indulging them.

There was a certain high that came with leaving the crushing heat of a club and feeling the sudden rush of open space, of biting chill—though Wooyoung could hardly feel it, he could feel the shift in the air—that made him feel lightheaded in the best way. San was feeling it, too, though surely he was at least a little drunk on just the  _ taste  _ of blood Seonghwa had given him, evident in the way he walked as though his shoes were made of lead, giggling and hanging off of Seonghwa’s arm as though he were his anchor. The music of the club was gone, but he could still hear it in some faraway echo, feel it thumping in his chest. A rush of something like joy hit him like an oncoming train and he laughed, slipping his hand into Yeosang’s as they walked.

“You’re so much  _ fun _ , Wooyoungie! We have to do this again! These geezers hate clubbing and Mingi loves his bed too much to come with me!” San whined, using his free arm to snag the other’s shoulder, shaking him almost violently. “You and I… we could own this scene.  _ Own it _ .”

Yeosang and Seonghwa both looked utterly amused, the latter huffing a laugh. “Mm, yes, that could not  _ possibly _ lead to disaster.”

“We’d have them wrapped around our palms—or… eating out of our fingers… wait. I’m… not making sense.” San babbled, blinking in confusion for a moment.

“Well at least he’s self-aware.” Yeosang teased, dropping his hand to move his palm to the space between Wooyoung’s shoulders, leading him just a little better. He would have thought they were wandering aimlessly, were it not for that, but it was clear now they were heading back toward the car.

Walking the city was different, now, than it had been when he was human. He was still receiving stares, but they were not the same as before. Men still regarded him as they once had— _ some _ men, as though he were some walking piece of meat and they had not had a meal in days. Others, though… others had looked at him with such judgement, such disdain. Now, those same people—humans—who would have sneered at him before were looking upon him with a certain fear, turning away hastily before he could catch their eyes for any length of time.

Hate tinged with fear, that he could bear. Hate steeped in disgust was what had churned up in his gut, and, on his worst days, it was what made him question, made him doubt, made him wonder if something was wrong with him, if he really was—

But no. He didn’t doubt anything, not anymore. When Yeosang’s hand slid up his spine to cup the back of his neck, squeezing  _ just so _ in a quelling little gesture, as though he’d sensed the shift in his mood, he felt all his remaining doubts fall away.

The crowds thinned as they left the thick of the downtown area, where the streets spidered out into larger thoroughfares, quieter businesses, quaint cafes. Each of them walked the area with familiarity, with ease, and so each of them noticed when something was amiss. Each of them, save San, who was well and truly in his own little world.

The quartet halted at the end of a dark street, an eerily familiar sound reaching them. Familiar to three… San stood still looking somewhat disoriented, until he heard it, too. It was more than one sound: the rattle of chains, the tap of wood on cement, heavy footfalls, jeering… the pained, desperate whimper of someone in pain. Someone in need of help.

Wooyoung tore away from Yeosang, breaking into a run down the alley.

San blinked. “What’s—?”

“Wooyoung!” Yeosang shouted, going after him. Seonghwa hissed a curse, pulling San along with him as he followed.

It did not take them long to find what it was they had heard. Tucked away in an abandoned alley, seven masked men in black raiment stood above a boy, bloodied and bruised—but only just—as he tried to shield himself from another swing. His button-up shirt was torn open, his chest already home to faint scars which had not been caused by these attackers or any other. Wooyoung snarled with rage, refusing to allow it to go any further, knowing just what these men were capable of.

“Get away from him!” He roared, tackling the one with the wooden bat to the ground as he lifted his weapon. None of them even had time to respond before Wooyoung was digging his nails deep into his neck, raking open the tender flesh. He stood and put himself between the boy and the rest of them, reaching out a bloodied hand. “Get out of here! Go!”

The boy scrambled to his feet in wide-eyed horror, pulling his shirt closed and running past to do exactly that. Wooyoung heard a breathless ‘thank you’ as he went, and his resolve only strengthened.

The other three vampires entered the fray as the men in black clustered closer. They started muttering to each other about how familiar he looked, about how he was going to pay for interrupting them. They moved in, and when Yeosang made to join the fight, Seonghwa’s hand on his shoulder stopped him cold. He rounded on the other, looking for some explanation as to why they shouldn’t help, why they  _ wouldn’t _ help, but within seconds… it was over regardless.

Human blows fell all but uselessly against the fledgling vampire, in such contrast to that first night, that night these very men had all but left him for dead. Wooyoung wouldn’t let them do it again… not to him, not to anyone. He would fight back, this time. He moved, and, moments later, the men lay in a bloody heap upon the ground, Wooyoung at the center.

It was a very different picture from that of the night they had first met him. He wiped his mouth, blood smearing across his lips, and he scowled. He didn’t want to feed from these disgusting cretins. The idea of it sickened him.

Just then, Seonghwa’s attention snapped to the end of the alley, where a familiar hunter stood, stock-still, taking in the carnage.

There was a long, tense moment when it felt as though time itself had ground to a halt. Yeosang reached out for Wooyoung, but only just… the horror of just what he feared may happen plain upon his face. Wooyoung staggered back toward him, toward some sense of safety and comfort, all while San watched with bated breath, not daring to make a move.

The hunter reached for his shotgun. His fingers had not even curled around the stock when Seonghwa stepped forward.

“Hongjoong-ah, before you pass judgement—”

“We are  _ well _ past just passing fucking judgement.” Hongjoong spat back, pointing toward Wooyoung with the blade in his left hand. “There isn’t any excuse you could contrive in all the nine circles of  _ hell  _ that’s going to let that  _ monster _ keep his head.”

Seonghwa regarded him for a moment before glancing back toward the others, as though he’d come to some decision.

“Yeosang… take Wooyoung and San and leave this place.” It was spoken in such a grave tone that the other did not dare argue. He took the two younger vampires by their sleeves and ushered them away, just as he was told.

Hongjoong made to follow, but Seonghwa stepped to the side, blocking his path. The hunter snarled. “Move aside, or you will be moved.”

“Please. That we are having this conversation at all after you’ve made such threats is a courtesy.” Seonghwa replied dismissively. “I bid that you listen to what I have to say before you do something idiotic.”

Hongjoong wasn’t one for listening. He grabbed for the modified shotgun holstered at his thigh once more, pulling it free this time. He managed barely to flick off the safety before Seonghwa seized him by his vest and threw him down the alley. He tumbled over the bloody heaps of two of the bodies, his gun flying from his grip before he came to a stop. He clambered to his feet, diving for his gun. Seonghwa was there in a second, standing over it.

“Make no mistake. For all your toys and your technology, you are but a  _ boy _ to me, playing with fire. Now I heed you listen before you harm yourself.”

“Harm myself? I’ve fought off worse than you and lived to tell about it. I’m not afraid of you.” Hongjoong snarled.

“Worse than me for their lack of mercy. Not for their power.” Seonghwa corrected. “You need not fear me only because I have told you, time and time again, that I do not wish to kill you.”

“Then step  _ aside _ .” Hongjoong growled.

“Why? So that you can put down a fledgling who has done nothing but defend himself and his ilk?” Seonghwa balked. “I think not.”

“Defending himself. By killing  _ seven _ men!” Hongjoong huffed incredulously.

“Surely there is some way I can persuade you to listen. What gets through to you? Is it money? I can pay you far more than any of the committee shills have ever offered on a bounty.” Seonghwa said.

“Fuck your money.” Hongjoong spat. “I can’t be bought by the likes of you.”

Seonghwa rolled his eyes, moving fast as lighting again until he was behind the hunter. The man instantly dove for his gun, getting back to his feet. Seonghwa didn’t seem all that concerned.

“Well, you aren’t in it for the money, that much is for certain.” The vampire scoffed. “So then, what tragedy befell you to make you take up the stake, dear hunter?”

“You know, I’ll be frank with you, I realized this was the only profession where I could have a mullet and no one would give me shit over it.” Hongjoong quipped sarcastically.

“Mm, we can thank Lost Boys for that, I suppose.” Seonghwa replied with a smirk.

“Oh, you do pop-culture references? And here I’d pegged you as the stuffy type who can’t enjoy media if it isn’t played on a harpsichord.“ Hongjoong snarled back with disdain.

“I  _ am  _ rather fond of the harpsichord, admittedly.” Seonghwa responded, inspecting his nails. “But I cannot deny I am equally a fan of modern technology,  _ especially  _ those pioneered by humans.”

“And here I figured you would resent technology, what with all the strides we’ve made with how best to kill your kind.” Hongjoong glowered.

“Oh, that was inevitable… innovative, resourceful humans. Always inventing, always reaching for the stars.” Seonghwa cooed in a tone that was coated in condescension. “The creators of the atomic bomb, on one hand, and several hundreds of flavored lubricants on the other. The two things your kind is very good at: sex and war.”

“Well, too bad for you, today I’m short on lube.” Hongjoong hissed, lifting his weapon and preparing to fire.

Seonghwa moved, so fast that his form was like a blur. When Hongjoong caught sight of him again, he was centimeters from him, teeth gleaming as he set just two fingertips against the barrel of the weapon.

“That’s all right, I go down.” He quipped with a wink.

“I swear I’ll kill you.” Hongjoong growled, moving his finger onto the trigger. “I’ll take down your entire fucking coven.”

“Don’t do this.” Seonghwa said, and perhaps it was his tone, so  _ eerily _ calm, so unbothered, that incensed Hongjoong so, as though he were no threat at all, as though he were as trivial as an insect in the other’s mind.

Hongjoong fired, but no sooner had his trigger-finger twitched that Seonghwa’s iron grip pressed into the barrel, pinching the metal as though it were soft as clay. With the ruined metal so close to the chamber, there was nowhere for the pressure to go but backwards.

Metal and plastic splintered, the small explosion knocking Hongjoong back into the wall. He felt a burst of fiery, searing pain as shrapnel tore through his cheek, neck and chest as though someone had thrown a string of firecrackers directly at him. He let out a pained sound, tasting blood.

“Oh, Hongjoong-ah, you really shouldn’t have done that.” Seonghwa murmured piteously, moving close and inspecting the damage with a sort of morbid curiosity.

“You… you did this…” Hongjoong snarled, voice petering off when a sharp pain cut through his chest. It hurt to breathe and everything was warm, too warm. He could feel the blood soaking his shirt beneath his vest. He knew the vampire could smell it, too.

“No, you pulled the trigger. You made the decision… one you had no right to make.” Seonghwa reminded him. “That fledgling was defending himself… and those men? They got what they deserved.”

“Don’t we all… in the end?” Hongjoong bit out, struggling for air as his chest went tight against his will.

“I’m not so sure. I don’t believe you deserve this. Not really.” Seonghwa replied, frowning. “There’s shrapnel too near your heart. There’s not a human on this earth who could fix that.”

“I’ll take my chances.” Hongjoong grunted. He took a step forward only to crumple once he wasn’t against the wall. Seonghwa shook his head and shoved him back against the cold brick.

“Look at you… all but dying and still so rude. And what a shame to spoil that pretty face.” Seonghwa cooed, leaning in and pressing the flat of his tongue against his cheek. He licked all the way up to his temple, humming in satisfaction when the blood pooled up on his tongue.

Hongjoong jerked away, but the vampire still had a solid hold on him.

“I can save you, you know.” Seonghwa told him in a voice too low and tender to belong to a monster. “If you let me.”

“Fuck off.” Hongjoong spat. “I don’t want your fucking healing.”

“You will die if I don’t.” Seonghwa murmured, just a tinge of regret coloring his otherwise ambivalent tone.

“Better that than to become one of you.”

“Oh stop.” Seonghwa hissed, shaking his head. “Just what is your damage that a man of hardly twenty-five would rather throw his life away than become a vampire? These aren’t the Dark Ages, boy. There are laws, now. There is coexistence. We are not merely the predators who lie in wait in the shadows. We are just as much a part of society as humanity, despite your prejudices!”

“You’re monsters.” Hongjoong spat, shuddering. “I’ll never… be like you…”

“ _ Please _ . You humans have learned nothing. Blaming the entirety of a species or race or religion on the foul actions of a few—who were rightfully punished for their transgressions—but only when they can easily be oppressed, of  _ course _ —”

“You are monsters by nature!” Hongjoong snarled, gritting his teeth when the metal shifted.

“We cannot help our nature any more than a beast can! Do you fault the lion for slaughtering the antelope? The orca for killing the seal? We have evolved with humanity and no longer kill for our food. So, then, why does your hatred burn for us so?”

“Not all of you… agree to abide humanity’s laws.” Hongjoong mumbled, vision swimming.

“And those who do not are dealt with swiftly by men just like you.” Seonghwa replied, his hand moving up. His fingertips played against the other’s bloody cheek, smearing vermillion where it had once been licked clean. “Sometimes by vampires themselves. There are hunters among my kind. They are not scorned. But they also do not make such brash, idiotic judgements as you do.”

“That vampire fledgling of yours… killed seven people…” Hongjoong spat, wheezing.

“Do you know who those men were?” Seonghwa hissed. “Of course you would not, because you refuse to  _ listen _ . They were evil, vile cretins… worse than any vampire you’ve put down. Bigoted rapists and murderers. I have had Mingi tracking them for weeks, this  _ gang _ , after they nearly killed Wooyoung, because your human police have been suspiciously helpless to stop them. Always so  _ conveniently  _ helpless when the only victims have been gay people, transgender people. Perhaps  _ your _ police are willing to let such transgressions go. I, on the other hand,  _ am not _ .”

“There are other ways to resolve—”

“Tcha! That is rich, coming from a contract killer. We have a right to defend ourselves, even to the point of killing, just as humans do.” Seonghwa reminded him. “We stepped in to stop them from killing another innocent person, and they attacked us.  _ You _ had no right to decide it was your place to put Wooyoung down here in the street for what  _ you _ perceived as mindless killings.”

Hongjoong’s mind lighted upon the blond boy he’d seen running out of the alley, bloodied and bruised. The puzzle pieces clicked into place, but too late, it seemed.

“What does it matter?” Hongjoong uttered with a mirthless huff of a laugh. “I’m going to die here, so you win, in the end, don’t you?”

“You won’t believe me,” Seonghwa began, leveling the hunter with a meaningful stare, “But I did not want for this. I tried to warn you. Would that you allowed me to explain, this could have been prevented. But I  _ can _ save you… if you let me. I won’t even have to turn you.”

Hongjoong let out a shuddering breath, his resolve shaking with it. “I don’t want to… I can’t lose myself…”

“Shh, you won’t, you won’t. Listen.” Seonghwa whispered, petting over his cheek. “Only those with weak minds succumb to the need as though it were a drug. They lose themselves only because they  _ wish _ to.”

Hongjoong’s lip trembled when Seonghwa’s thumb swept over it, wet with blood.

“You would need to return to me… every so often. You will need more of my blood as the antigens in your own destroy it. But it will not feel as an addiction, I swear to you. It is only to keep the area around that shrapnel healed. Do you understand?”

Hongjoong nodded, but his gaze was like steel. “If you are lying… I swear I will kill you before I put an end to myself.”

Seonghwa sighed. “So self-righteous. I speak the truth. Now, I only ask that you give your consent.”

Hongjoong gave him a long, hard look before nodding his assent. “Do it.”

Seonghwa watched him carefully as he stuck out his own tongue, pressing the sharp nail of his index finger into the center of it. He dragged it down until blood began pooling at the curve of his lips, then pressed his mouth against Hongjoong’s.

The hunter jerked, but the vampire held him in place with an iron grip at the back of his head, fingers tangling in the longer hair at his nape. There had been plenty of occasions when he had tasted his own blood, when his adrenaline ran high and a split lip or cut cheek was the least of his worries. But Seonghwa’s blood tasted like nothing else; smokey and metallic and  _ old _ , old like a fine, aged bourbon, and it burned down his throat just the same.

The warmth of it spread down into his lungs, his heart, and he felt it crawl through him in the pattern of his very veins, twisting and branching and reaching out until every molecule, every atom was touched. He could feel the way his body knit itself back together from the inside out, mending as the foreign cells got to work repairing his ruined flesh. It did not hurt. It was  _ euphoric _ .

Seonghwa pulled back, pausing for a long moment to eye him carefully before leaning in and running his tongue over his cheek once more. Hongjoong watched him through bleary vision. He was not a monstrous, feral creature, even in the moment when he was lapping up his blood as though it were the sweetest nectar. He was not manic, or frenzied, or cruel. There was a sort of kindness in his eyes, a genuine concern… as though Hongjoong were his patient, his ward. His eyes lighted upon the wounds, watching as they closed before licking them clean to ensure the scars had faded fully. Hongjoong felt something knife through him, molten in his gut. He let out an involuntary groan as though it were pulled out of him, his chest rattling in the wake of it.

Seonghwa finally moved away, cradling his chin and looking at him,  _ really looking _ , past his glazed-over eyes and slack mouth and pallid skin. “How do you feel, Hongjoong-ah?”

Hongjoong took a breath into undamaged lungs, felt his heart pump his blood through intact arteries leading to a tangle of perfect veins. Everything felt sharper, clearer. The old wounds which once ached him so had faded. There was… nothing. An absence of pain; something he had not felt for years. Something he’d not had for so long, he’d forgotten what it felt like.

Hongjoong’s hand trembled as he lifted it, placing it over his own chest, over his own hammering heart.

_ “Alive.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was all originally a single chapter, but it got so incredibly long that I decided to split it up into tiny chapters instead, which is why it’s a mess narratively. 
> 
> PS I hate Americanizing things set in Korea but researching 1940’s-1950’s Korean slang was impossible as an English-speaker so I just used American slang. However, if you are knowledgeable about Korean slang of the time drop viable replacements in a comment and I’ll update the fic~


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay on this. I had to split the chapter because, once again, I am incapable of accurately estimating fic length and somehow it STILL ended up twice as long as I wanted. I hate myself.

Wooyoung had felt, in the moment that he stood between those dangerous men in that dark alley, that what he had done was right. He felt empowered. He felt justified. But as the moment faded, as the realization dawned on him just what he’d done, he felt the true gravity of the situation crumble down onto him.

Yeosang had taken him and San back to the car, immediately heading for home. San argued with him as to how Seonghwa would return, but Yeosang insisted they had a plan in place for this kind of thing and that, as the second eldest, it was his responsibility to ensure the rest of the coven was safe.

The drive back was dead silent, a stark contrast to the previous trip. Wooyoung sat curled up in the front seat, eyes staring dead ahead but clearly not on the here-and-now. Yeosang drove with one hand and settled the other over Wooyoung’s, stroking over his palm gently with his thumb, a grounding gesture. San kept to himself in the backseat, gazing out the window with his mind, and concerns, on Seonghwa. There was nothing good that could have come out of that encounter, and no matter which way things went, it would likely change their lives forever.

When they arrived back at the mansion, however, Seonghwa was already awaiting them in the foyer with Mingi.

“What… how did you beat us back?” San asked, brain still a little addled from the elder’s blood.

“I took the high-speed rail. It was late—or rather, early—enough that I managed not to cause a scene. I had Mingi pick me up from the station.” Seonghwa explained.

“And the hunter?” Yeosang queried, his tone not remotely hiding his impatience.

“I handled it.” Seonghwa told him, too-dismissive.

“You  _ handled _ it.” Yeosang responded flatly. “Please.  _ Please _ tell me you did not kill a hunter.”

“I didn’t kill the hunter.” Seonghwa answered, earning a sigh of relief. Until he continued. “The hunter killed himself.”

“ _ Seonghwa _ !” Yeosang snapped, running a hand through his hair. “What did you  _ do _ ?”

“He attacked me without just cause, and I stopped him. His gun blew up in his face. Primitive things, honestly, for all their clout. He was dying. So, I offered to save him.” Seonghwa explained.

San’s eyes lit up. “Wait… did you  _ turn _ him?”

“No, no. His injuries weren’t  _ that _ critical. He’s a familiar, now.” Seonghwa replied.

“Wait. You didn’t tell me that.” Mingi balked. “How in the  _ hell _ did you get him to agree?” 

“Impending death is a great motivator. And I am incredibly persuasive.” Seonghwa told him with a smirk.

Wooyoung, however, wasn't comforted by the news. “This is… all of this was my fault, I snapped, and I dragged all of you into this. That hunter was after  _ me _ , because of what  _ I _ did…”

“Wooyoung, please.” Yeosang quelled, pulling the other into his arms. “You had every right. I would have done the same, if I were you.”

“There will be no sanction. No charges. I explained the situation to the hunter, once he was forced to listen.” Seonghwa said. “Don’t worry yourself over it.”

“Don’t worry yours— _ Seonghwa! _ ” Yeosang hissed, trying to keep himself from shouting since he was holding Wooyoung. “I think a little  _ worry  _ is more than reasonable. From the sounds of things, we can’t guarantee that hunter won’t decide to come after us later.”

“He won’t.” Seonghwa assured. “And if he does, I will handle it.”

His tone was so infuriatingly calm that it was hard not to put trust in him to keep that promise.

“In the meantime… everyone should get some sleep. Mingi, join me, I would speak with you further.” Seonghwa said, heading up the stairs. Mingi followed, a troubled expression on his face.

San looked to them, then to Yeosang and Wooyoung—the latter still wrapped up in his sire’s arms—and huffed pathetically.

“San, you may join us as well.” Seonghwa called back, and the younger vampire made a gleeful little sound before following them.

Once their footfalls faded up the stairs, silence fell in the foyer. It was a long moment before Yeosang finally spoke.

“The sun will be rising soon. We should sleep.”

“I don’t know if I’ll ever sleep again.” Wooyoung replied in a haunted sort of tone.

“Try.” Yeosang told him, kissing his forehead before pulling back. “I’ll be with you.”

It was a comfort, at least, and with his sire by his side, he at least found fitful rest after the sun came up.

***

By the time Hongjoong returned to base, it was well after sunrise. He couldn’t know if his crew had already awoken, or simply never slept, but when he came through the door, they both greeted him.

“He returns! And looking less like he wants to skin us alive.” Jongho shouted.

“Well I guess a night out was all you needed.” Yunho piped up, too-cheery.

“He’s right. You do look refreshed… if not a little haunted.” Jongho observed.

“Haunted.” Hongjoong repeated flatly. He tossed his weapon belt on the table by the door before stepping inside.

“You can’t just tell people they look ‘haunted’, what if they  _ are  _ haunted? You’re opening a can of worms.” Yunho chided.

“Yeah what the fuck, Jongho. We already established you both think I need therapy.” Hongjoong added.

“You know, one day I’ll be able to say words without one or both of you climbing down my throat about it.” Jongho retorted. “I really pray for that day. Like, every night, I get on my knees and I say, ‘God, thanks for not killing me today. I’d love your continued blessings of not dying, and maybe for my hyungs to let me fucking live for once, amen’.”

“Sounds like a waste of a prayer to me, you could ask for something way cooler.” Yunho said.

Jongho let out a long sigh, his face deadpan. “You know—”

“Hey, where’s your shotgun?” Yunho interrupted, looking at Hongjoong.

The hunter grimaced. “It, uh. Malfunctioned. Blew up in my face. Lucky I’m alive.”

Yunho stood, looking horrified. “It blew up? How? I was meticulous, those rounds were compatible, I checked them at least two-dozen times, I—”

“Wasn’t anything you did, Yunho-ah.” Hongjoong assured wearily. “Barrel got clogged. Had nothing to do with your design.”

“What? But how was the barrel clogged?” Yunho asked, confused. “Was it during a hunt? Did you pick up some kind of job while you were out? Nothing came through on the wire, at least not that I saw.”

Hongjoong took a deep breath before letting it out slowly, plopping down on the couch in a defeated sort of way. “Well, no use hiding it, I guess.”

“Hiding what?” Jongho asked, his voice full of dread.

And so, Hongjoong told them. He regaled how he’d come across the new fledgling from the Coven of Twilight surrounded by seven dead bodies and had made a reasonable, (but incorrect) judgement and how he’d nearly been killed when he refused to listen to Seonghwa. He told them how he’d been forced to accept the vampire’s blood, to become a familiar, in order to live. He expected them to be disgusted, or horrified, but Jongho just stared at him with a sort of impressed look.

“You know,” He said, shaking his head, “We always said your stubbornness would get you killed, but getting you turned into a familiar is an interesting twist.”

Yunho nodded sagely. “I’m glad Seonghwa-ssi was able to convince you.”

Hongjoong balked. “Really?  _ That’s _ your reaction?”

Jongho shrugged. “Being a familiar to a vampire who isn’t a complete asshole isn’t that bad, I imagine. It makes you heal faster and stuff, doesn’t it?”

Hongjoong frowned. “For a bit, yeah, I guess. But… you know, they always talk about how you lose yourself to the need for their blood and…”

“That’s largely overblown. Most people who do that are  _ looking _ for the high… they aren’t just trying to survive.” Yunho replied. “Kind of like the difference between taking heart medication or overdosing on pain meds.”

“It’s all the same blood, though.” Hongjoong murmured thoughtfully.

“Yeah but I’m assuming you aren’t gorging yourself on it.” Yunho reasoned.

Hongjoong grimaced. “Fuck no.”

“Then you’ll be fine.” Yunho assured, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “In any case, something tells me you didn’t get any sleep last night. Why don’t you hit the hay? I’ll get to work on a new shotgun for you, hm?”

Hongjoong grumbled in protest, but obliged, heading for his own room.

Except, hours passed, and he couldn’t sleep. His brain was addled with fatigue but his body was wired, too antsy to find rest. He ended up showering, pacing, reading, dicking around on his phone, playing with his butterfly knife… anything he could do to try to wear himself down. Nothing seemed to work. It was sunset by the time he finally nodded off, hovering in that place between sleep and wakefulness before he was finally pulled under.

But he felt he was not asleep at all… no, he was standing in that alley, and it was  _ vivid _ ; he could smell the puddles stewing beneath the trash bins, hear the screams of those gang members as they were slaughtered, but when he looked up, it was Seonghwa standing there, blood smeared on his face.

“This isn’t right.” He heard himself say, hollow and echoing in the dark.

Seonghwa lunged, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him into the cold brick behind him. He felt the air leave his lungs, felt himself struggle to breathe.

“Powerless.” The vampire sneered, his voice warped and horrifying. His mouth split into a cruel, toothy smile before he sunk his fangs into his neck, like a snake striking out at its prey.

 

Hongjoong awoke with a start, drawing breath but finding that his lungs protested, feeling as though they were being squeezed by his ribcage. A sharp pain shot through his chest, and it was like he could feel that shrapnel trying to dig its way into his heart.

“Fuck…” Hongjoong groaned, clutching at his own shirt as he tried to steady his breaths to no avail.

He was dying… it felt like he was  _ dying _ .

He threw on some pants and a jacket, slipping on his riding boots so he didn’t need to bother with laces. He didn’t have the  _ time _ . He barely remembered to pocket his phone before blowing through the living room, finding that Jongho was still up playing one of his handheld games. Yunho was apparently asleep, or down in his forge.

“Hongjoong-hyung, what is it?” Jongho asked, concern coloring his tone.

“I just… I need to… check on something, I’ll be back later, just… watch the place for me.” Hongjoong panted, not even grabbing his weapons, just his keys.

Jongho huffed. “Check on what? Is something wrong—?”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” Hongjoong bit back, and just like that, he was out the door. He jumped on his bike, and he was probably in no condition to drive, but he had to. He wasn’t going to involve the others… he wanted to keep them as far from this as he could.

With the moon hanging high in the midnight sky, he headed for Seongnam.

***

When the sun finally set, Wooyoung wasn’t very motivated to get out of bed. He felt that he’d hardly slept, too wound up with worry and the memory of those moments in the alley playing over and over again in his mind. Yeosang tried to coax him out of the room, without much success. He ended up bringing him some blood from the feeding room and sat with him, tracing nonsensical little patterns against his back with his fingers for hours.

Wooyoung couldn’t help the creeping feeling that he was being unreasonable. Not that an emotional reaction wasn’t reasonable, but that he was causing Yeosang to feel the need to baby him. It felt unfair.

“I’m sorry I’m like this.” He murmured in the quiet dark, his voice raw and low.

“I’d be more concerned if you were not.” Yeosang told him softly, combing the fringe back from the other’s eyes. 

“Is this the part where you tell me I’m too sweet and too soft for this cruel world?” Wooyoung goaded bitterly. “Because I just killed like seven people so I really don’t need to hear that.”

“No, no it’s not.” Yeosang assured, still petting through his hair. “But I will tell you this… sometimes we’re forced to do things we aren’t prepared to do… life sometimes throws at us experiences we are not equipped to handle. But the beautiful thing about it is that you are not alone. You are never alone.”

Wooyoung nodded, burying his face in his pillow so the other couldn’t see his tears. Yeosang, however, did not seem to be bothered or irritated in the least. He only sat with him, soothing him with gentle touches well into the night.

It was after midnight by the time he sat up with tousled hair and a pouty expression, huffing in frustration. “I can’t keep doing this. This isn’t self-care.”

Yeosang gave the barest of amused laughs, sympathetic. “Why don’t you try the spa or something? Could help you relax. San loves the thing, he’ll probably want to join you.”

Wooyoung tilted his head to look at him at that. “Spa?”

“Yeah, it’s in the closed porch outside by the pool.” Yeosang told him, planting a kiss at the crown of his head before sitting up. “Come on, put on your pool clothes and I’ll show you.”

Wooyoung offered a grumbling sigh, but eventually complied. Yeosang excused himself to go retrieve San and invite him along while Wooyoung was changing, and by the time he was finished, they met him at the door.

San was delighted… he was acting like this thing was god’s gift to humanity or something, but then Wooyoung remembered that he’d been born in the 30’s and so having technology like this was probably something he hadn’t been used to as a younger vampire. It was kind of like a hot tub, but shallow, with two distinct curves—one on either side—perfectly angled for relaxation. San climbed in and started fiddling with the knobs, showing Wooyoung how it worked.

“So, this is how the other half lives, huh?” Wooyoung asked, already starting to feel the tension drain out of him as the jets worked their magic. Yeosang came in with the towels, setting them on the bench next to the tub.

San peered at him with one eye open. “What, vampires?” 

“I meant rich people.” Wooyoung replied.

“Same difference.” San quipped, and the two of them burst into a fit of giggles.

“Can I get you two anything else?” Yeosang teased in a faux put-upon tone, though his smile betrayed his fondness.

“Mm, food maybe, in like an hour.” San murmured, though his eyes were closed and he had a pleased look on his face.

Yeosang laughed. “All right, I’ll be back, then.”

He petted through both of their hair before taking his leave, heading into the common area. Mingi was there, looking at something on his laptop, but he glanced up when he heard the other come in.

“Finally get Wooyoung out of bed?”

Yeosang nodded. “Yeah, he’s in the spa with San. They were laughing, so… I think we’re on the right track.”

“Good. I’ve been tracking that gang for weeks, figured I’d look into the response to their deaths.” Mingi said. “The media circuit’s been all over their deaths but lots of people are calling it ‘vigilante justice’. Police don’t seem too hung up on it.”

Yeosang gave an agreeable sort of gesture. “I wouldn’t be surprised if our beloved sire tipped off the police to just who they were and paid them handsomely for the trouble of disposing of them. Anonymously, of course.”

“Not his usual style.” Mingi commented.

“Not his usual problem.” Yeosang said. “Whatever the case may be, I hope this entire ordeal is behind us.”

Mingi only nodded.

But surely, nothing could ever be so easy. It wasn’t half an hour later that Mingi made a surprised sound, tapping on his laptop screen in surprise.

“What is it?” Yeosang asked.

“Proximity alarm was tripped.” Mingi told him, standing and setting his computer aside.

Alert, the two of them headed into the foyer just as the door was knocked upon.

Mingi sniffed the air, sneering.

“It’s that hunter, he’s here again.” He said, a certain edge to his voice. “If he’s here for Wooyoung—”

“I don’t think he is.” Yeosang murmured thoughtfully, looking at the small screen next to the door which displayed who was on the porch. Hongjoong looked nervous, jittery even… and he wasn’t geared up. “Wooyoung and San should still be in the spa.”

Mingi nodded. “I haven’t heard them leave it.”

“Good, keep them there.” Yeosang told him, waiting until he left to open the door.

Hongjoong was a wreck; he was trembling, his hands shaky as he stood there on the porch, waiting. His eyes lit up with hope for just a fraction of a second before they settled on Yeosang and he realized who had opened the door.

“Where is he, your leader? Where, I need—”

“I’m right here, Hongjoong-ah. What can I do for you?” Seonghwa asked as he entered from one of the side halls. He looked to Yeosang, tossing his head toward the back of the house, and he got the message, taking his leave of them.

Hongjoong came striding into the house without so much as a pause, and certainly no reservations. “You said that I would need to come back to you sometimes, but I thought it would be longer. It hasn’t even been a full day and—”

“You shouldn’t have need of it yet.” Seonghwa cut him off, appearing confused. “What’s wrong?”

“M-my chest, it hurts, the shrapnel, it—” Hongjoong grabbed at the front of his own shirt, fingers twisting into the fabric.

Seonghwa regarded him for a moment, brows drawn together, before he motioned toward the shelves next to the door. “Here, take your shoes off and come in. I’ll see to it.”

Hongjoong didn’t even bother arguing, toeing his boots off and sliding into the guest slippers the closest to his size. He looked to Seonghwa for some sort of guidance, and after a moment, the vampire motioned for him to follow him into the other room. He led the hunter into the common area, sliding the doors closed behind them. He spoke aloud to the tech system managing the house, telling it to turn off the electric fireplace. Once it powered down, the room fell silent.

“Come.” Seonghwa said, beckoning Hongjoong to come closer. He did, staring up at the other with a sort of desperate, impatient confusion.

Seonghwa listened for a long moment, running his fingertip along the line of Hongjoong’s sternum almost absently before he spoke again.

“You’re fine. Your body is still healing constantly, I can hear it.”

“What?” The hunter croaked. “It doesn’t feel that way… it feels like my chest is on fire, like I can feel the shrapnel…”

“Look.” Seonghwa soothed, taking the other’s hand and running the razor-sharp nail of his index finger across the heel of his palm, just enough to draw blood. After a few seconds, the wound knit itself closed.

Hongjoong blinked, confused. When Seonghwa leaned forward and licked the blood from his skin, he felt his face grow hot and jerked his hand away, averting his gaze.

“What were you doing when your chest went tight?” Seonghwa asked, watching his face carefully.

“I don’t know, napping?”

“Did you dream? About that night?” Seonghwa asked, his voice low and gentle, not at all accusatory.

Hongjoong swallowed. “Y-yeah, I might have.”

Seonghwa nodded. “Hongjoong-ah, you’re likely experiencing post-traumatic stress. It’s common after something like that.”

Hongjoong scoffed. “Post-traumatic… I’m a fucking  _ hunter _ , I’ve been killing vampires since before I finished high school, I’m not some whiny, weak—”

“Who said you were weak?” Seonghwa interrupted, appearing genuinely confused.

“You didn’t, it’s just, you know. People get PTSD because they can’t handle shit.  _ I _ can handle shit.” Hongjoong grumbled.

“That isn’t… what that means at all.” Seonghwa chided. “I suppose you think that  _ monsters  _ like us cannot have PTSD either, hm?”

“No, because that would require you caring about something, now, wouldn’t it?” Hongjoong muttered bitterly.

Seonghwa let out a sigh, shaking his head. “We had to comfort Mingi for weeks after he was turned. He couldn’t stop hearing the sound of the enemy tanks bearing down on us, the gunfire… he awoke every night believing that the bullets from the enemy artillery were still lodged in his chest. And Yeosang tells me that Wooyoung had a similar experience after that gang beat him nearly to death. He had night terrors for days.”

Hongjoong’s lips pressed together into a grim line as he listened.

“Perhaps when a vampire gets as old as me… we may seem as unfeeling husks to you, and perhaps it is true that I am emotionally more removed than the others,” Seonghwa admitted, bringing his thumb up to Hongjoong’s chin, “But that does not change the fact that I would die for any one of them. Though it does not beat, my heart is firmly in their hands… and I believe that, if one is capable of love, they surely must be capable of feeling just about anything else.”

Seonghwa tipped the other’s face upward, just slightly, catching his eyes in a captivating gaze.

“What about you, hunter? Do you think you are still capable of love, with all the world has brought upon you? Given your disposition, I assume it is a lot.”

Hongjoong huffed, pulling away from the other’s grip. “Not that it’s any of your business, but… I’ve got a team. And yeah, I’d lay down my life for them, sure.”

Seonghwa smiled, then retracting his hand. “Then I don’t think you’re weak at all. I think you care, that’s all. You care and you feel. The human condition.”

“Interesting choice of words.” Hongjoong muttered.

“I find language is so limited, honestly. The more of them I learn, the more I realize that.” Seonghwa replied, his tone much lighter, then. “In any case… whether you believe my diagnosis or not, are you satisfied that you are not dying?”

“I… guess.” Hongjoong answered. He still felt as though his chest were trying to curl in on itself… not as strongly as before, but he did not feel  _ all right _ .

“Then is there anything further I can do for you?” Seonghwa asked, more earnest than dismissive.

“Are you asking me to leave?” Hongjoong questioned wryly.

“No, I am asking if there is anything further I can do for you.” Seonghwa repeated. “In my opinion, you shouldn’t drive in your condition… and it’s late as it is, for your kind. You’re welcome to stay. No one will bother you.”

Hongjoong barked a laugh. “Ha, that’s fucking rich. Cute joke.”

Seonghwa blinked at him as though he did not understand.

“Oh. You’re serious. Really. As if I’d fucking stay in a vampire death-mansion—”

“No one has ever died on these grounds.” Seonghwa corrected patiently.

“As if I’d fucking stay in a vampire mansion where you keep a freezer full of my kind’s fucking blood like it’s normal.” Hongjoong amended, sounding irritated. “Really getting into semantics, huh?” 

“Semantics.” Seonghwa scoffed derisively. “As though the distinction means so little.”

“Does it, though?” Hongjoong countered.

“I have seen more death than you could fathom… lived through more wars than you could name from your history lessons. I  _ have _ killed, yes… to defend myself and my coven. Only once did I ever take a life which wasn’t deserving of it, and I swore never to allow it to happen again.” Seonghwa told him, a faraway look on his face. “The man who created me… neither of us knew just what he had done to me, to save me. He was a healer, and I was his pupil. I only ever wanted to help people… so when the hunger became maddening, when it seized my senses and caused me to attack him, I—well. I have lived a long, long time, but I have never forgotten that night. I have never stopped trying to atone for it, in some way, however impossible it seemed.”

Hongjoong stared for a long moment, only to realize that he had nothing of merit to say.

“I have only done my best to prevent death around me, no matter how much humanity has made it seem an impossible task. I could only ever try.” Seonghwa continued. “So you are welcome to go… but if you crash that bike of yours, my blood will not be enough to stitch you back together.”

There was a long pause before Hongjoong let out a trembling sigh. “Fine. Just… point me to your least uncomfortable couch.”

“Oh, no, guests sleep in  _ beds _ . We aren’t savages.” Seonghwa told him, shaking his head and clicking his tongue at the other. He motioned for him to follow, leading him back out into the foyer. They took the stairs up to the second floor, Seonghwa leading him to his own room. It was the only way he could guarantee the others wouldn’t simply walk in to check why they were hearing a heartbeat coming from a guest room… if he was in Seonghwa’s room, they would at least assume the human was meant to be there. He hoped it would afford him some privacy, and keep Wooyoung from accidentally happening across him.

When the vampire opened the double-doors leading into the room, Hongjoong let out a long whistle as he looked around. The bed was  _ massive _ , at least the size of two king mattresses put together. Why anyone needed that much space to sleep was beyond him, but then his mind wandered to other practical reasons for owning such a large bed and he promptly chose to drop the train of thought. There wasn’t anything particularly decadent about the decor but it  _ was _ elegant, in an understated sort of way. There were several bookshelves, filled with everything from journals to texts to a collection of small items which appeared to be historical in nature. On the widest, center shelf, there was a framed copy of the final page of the Human-Vampire Accords, prominently displayed. Seonghwa’s signature was among the many coven leaders’ at the bottom of the document.

“All your guests given these kinds of accommodations?”

“I cannot say we ever see many guests… but no, these are my own private chambers.” Seonghwa clarified.

“ _ Chambers _ , god, you really are a thousand.” Hongjoong muttered, making his way to the bookshelf to peruse the titles. Many of them appeared to be in languages other than Korean. “You said you knew a bunch of languages. How many?”

“At present count, fluently, a hundred and four, not accounting for dialects. But I read nearly two-hundred.”

Hongjoong’s head jerked back, and he stared at Seonghwa like he was insane. “A hundred and… that’s inhuman. People always say vampirism doesn’t impact mental ability, but… that seems impossible.”

“It wasn’t the vampirism, it was the time. Exceptional humans have accomplished similar feats in the past without immortality.” Seonghwa reminded him. “I merely had the advantage of longevity and a lack of company for many years.”

“At least ‘til the pretty princey came along.” Hongjoong mumbled, gaze trailing back to the books as he ran his fingers over the spines.

“Mm, that was centuries later, yes. Being in the employ of his family, however, gave me access to more books and learning materials than I’d ever had before.” Seonghwa replied, cocking his head. “Do you feel that if I bore you with menial conversation for long enough that you will become tired enough to rest?”

Hongjoong snorted. “Caught out. To be honest, my chest still fucking hurts, so. Not sure how much sleeping I’m gonna be able to do.”

“Oh.” Seonghwa stood thoughtfully for a moment. “Could you… describe your pain?”

Hongjoong sighed, his hand dropping. He crossed the room back toward the other, standing close enough to touch him. He lifted his right arm, pressing his fingertips into Seonghwa’s chest in a sort of circular formation.

“It feels like someone has their hand two-knuckles deep in my chest, punched right through the spaces in my ribs, and is squeezing.” He flexed his fingers, letting them dig into Seonghwa’s shirt. The vampire didn’t flinch or react in any way, other than to look down and frown. “And the hand is on fire.”

“Your heart stopped racing and you’d calmed down, so I thought it might have passed.” Seonghwa murmured, placing his own hand flat against Hongjoong’s chest. He could hear and feel the way his heart-rate jumped at the action. “My apologies.”

“Yeah, well.” Hongjoong grunted, pulling away. “You said you used to be a healer, right? What makes something like this better? Other than, like… Valium.”

Seonghwa’s lips pressed together into a grim line before he answered. “It is different things for different people. And I don’t believe I would be able to offer you what you need.”

“What do I need?”

“As I said, it depends. But many people find comfort in an embrace, or in soothing words, or in simply being left alone in a safe, comfortable place.”

Hongjoong frowned. He didn’t feel that he was in danger, here, but he wouldn’t say he felt safe. It was comfortable, though… alarmingly so. He hadn’t expected that vampires cared about such things.

“Well, in a perfect world, where I wasn’t in a mansion surrounded by vampires, what would you suggest?”

Seonghwa let out a patient sigh. “You mentioned a team. Anyone whom you find particularly comforting? Whose presence is a balm?”

Hongjoong grimaced. He pictured Yunho with his broad shoulders and sweet smile. Once, after a particularly worrying hunt, he’d pulled Hongjoong into a crushing hug. It had been warm and comforting and… nice.

“I… guess.”

“Have a seat.” Seonghwa told him, motioning to the bed.

Hongjoong gave him a look, but obeyed, leaving his slippers on the floor and climbing onto the obscenely massive mattress. He felt like a child sitting on a bed that big, and stayed near the left edge.

Seonghwa went to the closet at the far end of the room and pulled out a few blankets, setting them on the end of the bed. He wrapped Hongjoong up in one, then draped the other—a heavier duvet—over him.

“How does that feel?”

“...hot.” Hongjoong muttered.

Seonghwa made a face. “I was aiming for ‘like an embrace’.”

“Missed the mark.” Hongjoong said sarcastically.

“Shall I, then?” Seonghwa asked. At the hunter’s confused look, he added, “Embrace you?”

Hongjoong sputtered. “Uh… gonna be honest with you; I’m not really sure that would help.”

Seonghwa seemed to deflate a little, but not out of offense. He looked almost… regretful, looking away thoughtfully for a moment before trying again. “Perhaps I could drive you home. You could retrieve your bike another time, or I could have it delivered to—”

“What is this?” Hongjoong cut him off in exasperation.

Seonghwa’s brow furrowed. “How do you mean?”

“What’s with all this… nicety?” Hongjoong grumbled. “Last night you were throwing me around like I was some piece of meat, and now you’re babying me. Is this a  _ familiar _ thing? Is that what this is? Because I’m not your fucking  _ pet _ .”

There was a long pause while Seonghwa blinked at him in confusion. He took several seconds for him to formulate a response. He sat on the bed next to him, closer to the headboard where various pillows were stacked in a line down the entire width of it.

“I… don’t quite know how to explain to you that I am not, in fact, of a singular personality in all situations.” It was said like a question, Seonghwa well and truly perplexed. “When you come here unannounced on a sanction, I try to be cordial, if not—admittedly—guarded. When you threaten my coven’s new fledgling after a rather torturous evening and dare to assume you can easily kill me, I will be…  _ understandably  _ opposed. So when you arrive at my doorstep distressed and in pain, am I not supposed to respond accordingly?”

Hongjoong’s jaw clicked shut.

“I had assumed you might believe vampires were monolithic; that we are all similar, that we all fit your narrow view of us. But for you to think that I am incapable of more than one or two outward emotions is beyond ignorance.” Seonghwa continued, chiding and more than a little offended. “The centuries may have tempered me but there are still countless facets to a person’s nature… human or vampire, no matter their age and experiences.”

“I didn’t mean…” Hongjoong looked down almost guiltily, his voice startlingly small. “I just… want it to stop hurting.”

Seonghwa’s face fell, all of the irritation seeming to bleed out of him as he rested a hand on one of the hunter’s blanket-swathed shoulders. “I apologize, I’m afraid I feel a bit helpless to assist in this, presently. I am unused to the feeling.”

Hongjoong sighed, throwing off the heavy duvet and moving the blanket down so it was at his waist before lying down, his head on Seonghwa’s lap. He felt the vampire stiffen under him at the sudden action, and he let out a huff.

“Just… keep talking to me, I guess. More menial shit. Got a favorite long-ass poem or something?”

Seonghwa nodded. “Yes, but it is in Chinese.”

“Even better. Like white noise. Lay it on me.” Hongjoong grunted.

Seonghwa did. He kept the volume of his voice low as he recited Chinese poetry from memory, in the original ancient dialect. The tension eventually left him as Hongjoong visibly relaxed, and he let his right hand settle on the human’s arm while the other petted absently through his hair. It only took ten minutes for him to nod off; the vampire could tell by his relaxed posture and even breathing. He continued to recite those poems, however, until he’d run through them all.

***

When Hongjoong awoke, it wasn’t all at once. He had to fight off the dregs of sleepiness, and he felt horrendously groggy. He wasn’t somewhere familiar, he noticed as he blinked open his eyes, and he soon realized he wasn’t  _ with _ someone familiar, either.

Well. Familiar in a sense.

He sat up, rubbing at his temples. “Nn… what time is it?”

“About seven in the morning, I’d say.” Seonghwa told him.

Hongjoong blinked at him. “Wait, did you just… sit there? The whole time?”

From his expression, Seonghwa seemed to wonder why that was even a question, especially such an incredulous one. “...yes?”

Hongjoong snorted. “That must’ve been incredibly fucking dull.”

“Near the end of the Tenth Century, I once spent three days straight in a cave at Mount Kumgang, unmoving, trying to overpower the thirst that came with my vampirism.” Seonghwa told him, his tone too-casual. “ _ That _ was unspeakably dull. Eventually, the hunger became too much, but… it had felt like such an excruciating amount of time back then. Now, there are moments when months seem to pass to me like hours.”

“Um.”

“I only meant to assure you that it was not a bother.” Seonghwa clarified, offering a reassuring smile.

The corner of Hongjoong’s mouth tugged up in something almost resembling a grin. “Right. Well, thanks, I guess.”

“You are welcome.” Seonghwa replied genially. “You must be hungry. You should eat before you return… it’s a long drive to manage on an empty stomach.”

“Something tells me I’m not gonna like the menu.” Hongjoong quipped.

Seonghwa laughed. “We have human food on-hand… there are familiars on staff, you know. I am sure we can find you something.”

“Oh.” Hongjoong murmured. “I figured my choices were blood or wine.”

“You  _ are _ welcome to my wine collection, but not prior to driving.” Seonghwa told him with a wink, and Hongjoong couldn’t help but snort a laugh of his own.

“Good to know. So, what kind of food do you feed your familiars? Since they’re  _ your  _ food and all.”

Seonghwa’s brow furrowed. “They eat whatever they want. They’re still people.  _ Their own _ people.”

Hongjoong threw his hands up. “Excuse me for thinking that you see us humans as food. You did help yourself to my blood just the other day.”

“Humans aren’t simply a walking meal to me. Though I’ll admit, I’ve never quite tasted blood like yours.” Seonghwa told him. “The worst of my kind, they live for the taste of fear. It’s sweet, actually  _ sweet _ … because the body sends more glucose into the bloodstream to fuel your muscles for a flight-or-fight response. It releases epinephrine, too, and to me, it sours the taste. Most vampires would agree. But your blood wasn’t sweet at all. Or sour, for that matter.”

Hongjoong snorted. “Dare I ask what it  _ did _ taste like?”

“It isn’t a… flavor, I think.” Seonghwa murmured thoughtfully. “I think I… find myself most drawn to the taste of bravery. Heroism. Not someone who is afraid, but also not someone who submits to be subjugated. Rather, someone who knows what needs to be done as sees it as their duty to step up and do it.”

“If I’m the hero in this situation…” Hongjoong said, raising an eyebrow. “What does that make you?”

Seonghwa smiled, then, as though he were incredibly amused. “Someday you will learn that just because you view someone as your antagonist, that it does not always make them a villain.”

“Hard not to see it that way when you’re talking about drinking my blood… blood I decidedly need in order to live.” Hongjoong countered. “Not to mention casually bringing up the Tenth Century like it was yesterday, knowing over a hundred languages like it’s normal...”

Seonghwa gave a conceding look. “It is easy to look at me and feel that there is something intrinsically wrong, or different, about a person who has lived over a thousand years, or even a hundred years, and never aged a day. But look at someone like Wooyoung, who was a human just like you only last month. The only thing about him that has changed is his physiology. He is the same person he was a month before, just absent a beating heart. Does he deserve your ire? Your hate? He is just a boy who didn’t want to die.”

Hongjoong swallowed. He didn’t know how to answer that.

Seonghwa grinned genially, however, as though the subject was dropped. “Regardless, let me bring you something to eat. You may remain here while I check the kitchens.”

He gave a small bow before leaving the room, closing the door behind him. He headed down the stairs, however, before he even reached the bottom, he noticed the others had gathered there, awaiting him. Mingi looked tense, San draped tiredly against his side. Yeosang appeared equally concerned, Wooyoung all but behind him, holding his arm with both hands as though he were braced for confrontation.

“You should all be sleeping by now. Is something the matter?”

“I can hear his heartbeat. I can smell him. That hunter is still here.” Mingi said, accusatory.

“He is. I opened our home to him for the evening.” Seonghwa explained. “It was late and he was experiencing some ill-effects from our previous encounter.”

“You offered to let him stay?” Mingi asked, less than pleased by his tone.

“He won’t harm anyone.” Seonghwa assured. “He’s a bit ignorant, surely… but he can be reasoned with.”

“This is Wooyoung’s life potentially on the line here.” Yeosang pressed, his words hard. “You’re certain?”

“I am certain.” Seonghwa replied, running his hand through Wooyoung’s hair before setting his palm against the curve of his jaw. “But you may stay close to me, or to Yeosang, while the hunter is here… if that makes you more comfortable.”

“The hunter will be close to you, so he should remain near me should he wish to avoid him.” Yeosang muttered.

Seonghwa rubbed his thumb over Wooyoung’s cheek before releasing him. “That is undoubtedly a fair statement. But know that I would sooner hack off both his legs than let him attack you, hm?”

Wooyoung nodded, shrinking away back to his sire’s side. Yeosang put an arm around him, pressing a kiss to his temple.

“How long is he staying?” San asked in a bored tone, pouting from Mingi’s shoulder. “Doesn’t smell like you’ve fucked him yet.”

Seonghwa rolled his eyes. “I am bringing him food, and then he will likely leave.”

“Good. Can’t say I much like having him around.” Mingi grunted, grabbing San’s side. “I don’t think any of us should be alone while he’s here. I’ll take San to bed with me. Yeosang, you have Wooyoung?”

“Of course.” Yeosang replied with a nod.

Seonghwa shook his head. “Take any precautions which make you more comfortable, but I will keep an eye on him. Sleep well.”

“Well as we can.” Mingi grumbled, leading San toward the stairs. Yeosang and Wooyoung followed suit, and Seonghwa headed for the kitchens.

***

Wooyoung was twitchy. It must have been driving Yeosang mad, but he just patiently rubbed at his shoulders, let the other play with his fingers, pulled him in against his chest and pressed soothing kisses to the crown of his head. It didn’t seem to quell the anxiousness thrumming through him.

After too long, Wooyoung was getting tired of dealing with himself… he couldn’t imagine how Yeosang felt. He sighed and extricated himself from the other’s hold, sliding out of bed.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m gonna shower. I never got the smell of chlorine off me from the spa.” Wooyoung replied, feeling it was a completely reasonable response.

“But… that hunter is still here. You shouldn’t go alone.” Yeosang protested.

“I’ll be fine. I highly doubt he’s going to get past Seonghwa to take me out in the  _ shower _ .” Wooyoung reasoned.

Yeosang sighed. “I concede that’s… probably true. Just… don’t go wandering the halls while he’s here. I’ll keep an ear out, all right?”

“Okay.” Wooyoung agreed, grabbing a towel from the linen closet before sneaking out into the hall.

The coast was clear and he made it to the bathrooms without any trouble. He spent a long time under the hot spray, enjoying the heat of it more than actually cleaning for a good several minutes. By the time he climbed out, toweled off and re-dressed, he was clean and refreshed and feeling a little more relaxed.

He stepped back into the hallway, heading for his room. He didn’t make it far, however, before he felt a human presence behind him.

“Wooyoung-ssi.”

Upon hearing his name, the fledgling vampire stiffened, turning to stare at Hongjoong with wide, wary eyes. When he began to back away slowly, the hunter’s hand shot out.

“Wait, I don’t—I’m not looking to hurt you.” He tried, and something about his earnest tone must have convinced him, because he stood stock-still.

“What, then?” Wooyoung asked, voice low and raw and terrified. It was hard for Hongjoong to see him as a monster, then. He could see him for the frightened boy he’d been a month ago, dying on the cold pavement because he dared to be himself.

“I’m… sorry, that I made such a brash judgment about you.” Hongjoong said. “Your leader explained that those men were… vile people. That they were the ones who all but killed you, who forced you to have to make a choice between death and vampirism. And all because… of who you choose to love.”

“S’not a choice at all.” Wooyoung murmured, eyes finding the floor.

“Hm, don’t I know it.” Hongjoong muttered wryly. “But it’s a choice to live your truth. And you had, you  _ have _ every right to that.”

After a thoughtful moment, Wooyoung just nodded. He didn’t feel like a ‘thank-you’ was really necessary for basic decency.

“Your leader, he… he said something that struck me. It… made me realize that vampires aren’t… really as different from humans as I first thought.”

“Okay.” Wooyoung said, but when the other seemed to look at him almost expectantly, he continued. “What do you want me to do? Absolve you for your past ignorance or something? Congratulations on unlearning just a little bit of the bullshit society teaches us about vampires.”

“That’s not—”

“You know, I thought that stuff about vampires myself, too… I went through the public school system. I was fed the rhetoric. I was also fed the rhetoric of just how wrong and disgusting I was as a person, as a human, so maybe it was just easier to accept that all of it might have been wrong. The fact of it is that it took me a long time to accept who I was as a human. I’m sure as hell not going to let anyone make me feel like shit for being a vampire, especially when my only other choice was to die.”

Hongjoong swallowed. It was another of those times where he felt he didn’t really have anything of merit to say in response.

“Wooyoung.”

They both turn to see Yeosang, his expression just as concerned as his tone had been. His gaze traveled between the two of them before he held out a hand, and Wooyoung went to him gladly, taking it.

“Sorry, I—”

“You don’t need to explain. Let’s just get back to bed.” Yeosang said gently, pulling him in and cupping his other hand at the back of his neck. He placed a kiss at his temple, watching Hongjoong with a sharp gaze the entire time as he led Wooyoung back toward their bedroom.

Hongjoong was left standing in the hall, feeling a little lost in more ways than one.

***

Days passed with no word from Hongjoong, so Seonghwa assumed that he was having no further troubles, or that he had been called away for a hunt. He wouldn’t need more blood for at least a week, so it wouldn’t be long before he returned, he was certain.

In the meantime, life resumed for their coven. Wooyoung was slowly coming out of his shell again, apparently believing that Hongjoong really was no longer a threat to him. Neither he nor San brought up the idea of clubbing again, and that sat uneasily with Seonghwa and Yeosang… because they truly did want them to be able to go out and have fun and enjoy themselves. It would likely be a long time before any of them were up for it again, however. 

Staying in wasn’t so bad, though. He discovered that Mingi had a whole computer room that was actually stacked wall-to-wall with gaming systems, including old-style arcade machines. He was assured by Yeosang that if he asked  _ very nicely _ that Mingi would share. In truth, when he brought it up, Mingi was more than delighted to show him around and even play a few rounds with him. It was a good way to get his mind off things… just playing mindless games, slipping away from reality for a while.

One night, they even convinced everyone to get together and play… even Seonghwa. He was—by his own admission— _ abysmal _ at video games, which San absolutely teased him relentlessly over. Yeosang wasn’t terrible, but he wasn’t amazing, either. It was clear Mingi and San were the gamers in the household, that was, until Wooyoung took them by surprise and completely trounced them both.

San was appalled, honestly… well and truly offended. Yeosang gladly relinquished his controller, going to join Seonghwa on the settee across the room to watch in amusement while the youngest three shouted over the merits of a three-way-brawl versus a one-on-one and who got the first rematch if they went with the latter. They’d never seen Wooyoung so  _ loud _ , so passionate, and it was a comfort to know that this coven could bring that out in him.

They ended up settling on the free-for-all option, but San and Mingi made a pact to focus out Wooyoung instead of each other. It didn’t matter, though… he still beat them both soundly, causing quite the uproar when he blasted them both off the screen with a single hit.

Mingi and San immediately bolted up, throwing their controllers down and arguing over whose fault it was. Wooyoung watched in amusement, laughing so hard that he fell back over on the couch, cackling like a hyena.

They had heard Wooyoung laugh, surely… when he was mildly amused. His usual laugh matched his voice; not high, not low, just a smooth middle-range that fit his face perfectly. When he found something beyond hilarious, however, his laugh went up by at least two entire octaves.

Yeosang stared with wide eyes for several seconds before his hand shot over his mouth, covering a giggle as it slipped out. He didn’t mean it in a bad way… Wooyoung’s laugh was adorable.

“Oh my  _ god _ you’re so  _ cute! _ ” San screeched, tackling the fledgling so hard that sent them both rolling to the ground, the elder wrapping him up in a hug with all his limbs in his best impression of an octopus, apparently.

“Shut up! Five seconds ago you were going to roast my innards for obliterating you both.” Wooyoung protested, trying to break free to no avail.

“What a vivid image.” Seonghwa commented off-hand, chuckling.

“I still want to, but now I want to bask in your cuteness first before I destroy you.” San replied in a too-innocent tone.

“Let’s face it, Sannie… he has a generational advantage. He was born with video games already having been invented.” Mingi reasoned.

“Yeah but we’ve had  _ decades _ to hone our skills!” San countered.

“Yes but you only play against us, and each other. Small skill pool.” Seonghwa piped up.

“I don’t think I like what you’re implying.” San replied in a deadly tone, releasing Wooyoung to cross his arms angrily in his sire’s direction.

“I think he’s implying you should get good, scrub.” Wooyoung quipped.

Yeosang, Seonghwa and Mingi all laughed and—to his credit—Wooyoung seemed to know the wrath he was drawing: he gave one wary look toward San before bolting over the couch just as the other made chase, trying to tackle him again.

It had been a nice night, and he’d gone to bed feeling contented for the first time in a long while.

Now, though, it was the middle of the night, and Wooyoung was getting a little restless. He had decided to give the games a rest and join Yeosang in the library. He kept quietly to his own corner with a novel he’d grown quite invested in while Yeosang sat with his many history books and worked on his own account of the portion of the Joseon Era he had lived through. He was getting hungry, however, the haze of it starting to encroach on his senses enough that it was distracting him from the book. He sighed and set it aside, standing with a languid stretch.

“Finished?”

Wooyoung shrugged. “Just for now. Getting hungry.”

“All right. I’ll just finish up this last page and meet you in the feeding room, hm?” Yeosang said.

“Sounds good.” Wooyoung agreed, heading out of the library.

He was finally getting used to the house… it took him less time than he’d anticipated, mostly because he tended to only use a few rooms with regularity. He was certain there was probably an entire wing of the house he hadn’t even bothered with yet, but he had all the time in the world to explore whenever he felt up for it. For now, he mainly only utilized the library, the common area, the feeding room, Mingi’s computer room and his and Yeosang’s rooms. They tended to trade off on where they slept each day, which Wooyoung would have been self-conscious about had he not seen San, Mingi and Seonghwa regularly doing the same in each other’s rooms. He imagined that eternal life would get lonely without companions, so it made sense to him that the coven members were so close with each other.

Wooyoung was still wrapped up in his own thoughts as he opened the doors to the feeding room.

A mewl of pleasure echoed through the large space and Wooyoung halted in the doorway, frozen on his feet.

Across the room, Mingi was seated on the biggest wingback chair, pants at his ankles and shirt rucked up to his clavicle. San was seated on his lap, void of even a single stitch of clothing as he rode him enthusiastically, raking his sharp nails down that long expanse of torso until he drew blood. He dipped down to lick it up, letting out a shuddering groan as he did so.

Wooyoung thought he might have managed to squeak out an apology before he closed the doors, but he was unsure if they even took notice of him, or if they even cared. He backed up to the far wall until his back hit it, covering his face in embarrassment.

And of course, it was that exact moment when Yeosang came striding down the hall, spotting him immediately.

“Wooyoung, what is i—?” He stopped mid-sentence, however, catching a scent in the air. His expression suddenly warped into one both affronted and incensed, and he tore the doors open before closing them behind him.

Wooyoung could still hear him through the ornate wood, the elder vampire’s voice raised to an angered pitch.

“In the feeding room,  _ really? _ We have a new fledgling!”

“Our rooms were becoming boring.” San whined, just as loud.

“Boring, of  _ course _ . Boring enough to forgo basic decency.” Yeosang spat accusingly.

“Oh please, don’t act as though you haven’t fucked us on or  _ been  _ fucked on every available surface in this entire house.” San quipped back. “You—”

His voice was suddenly muffled, and Mingi spoke in his stead. “Sorry, Yeosang. I told him it was a bad idea, but. You know how it is.”

“San gets what San wants.” Yeosang grumbled. Wooyoung heard his footfalls cross the room, heard the fridge open, then close again. “Please consider a different location for your next tryst, hm?”

“On the beam from here on out.” Mingi promised, but he let out a filthy sound when San apparently did something cheeky. “Christ, baby, think you could quit grandstanding while Yeosang’s snapping his cap?”

“Don’t make me gag you.” San quipped.

“To hell with the both of you.” Yeosang snarled as he came back through the door, slamming it shut behind him. He had two blood bags in his hand, which Wooyoung eyed for a long second. 

“Um.”

“Come take your meal elsewhere with me, I’m so sorry, Wooyoung.” Yeosang shook his head, taking the other’s waist and leading him back to his room. Wooyoung didn’t argue, following until they were across the house, Yeosang closing his door behind them and grabbing them two glasses. He poured the blood for both of them, motioning for Wooyoung to sit. He chose to do so at the foot of the bed, and Yeosang handed him his glass before settling against the headboard with his own.

They drank in silence for a long, drawn out moment before Wooyoung set his empty glass on the chest past the foot of Yeosang’s bed and regarded him.

“So… San and Mingi are…”

“Oh. Well. It’s, ah… a fair bit more complicated than… that.” Yeosang answered, clearing his throat and looking away. He set his own empty glass on his nightstand. “All of us, at one time or another, have been… well, Seonghwa less and less these days, but, we’re all…”

“Oh.” Wooyoung murmured, not understanding. And then, it seemed to hit him, and his voice rose at least an octave in pitch. “ _ O-oh _ . You mean… all of you…  _ oh _ .”

“It’s common, in vampire covens. I don’t know if that… helps or hurts your opinion of us.” Yeosang responded somewhat sheepishly.

Wooyoung shook his head, gesturing a bit manically. “No, it’s not like that, I’m not… disgusted, I was just surprised. I wasn’t expecting…”

“I wanted to explain, but… I wasn’t sure exactly how to broach the subject.” Yeosang replied with a mirthless laugh. “I thought you might realize eventually, though. As you can see, San isn’t subtle.”

“Yeah.” Wooyoung snorted. He looked down at his hands after a moment, tone shifting. “I guess it’s just that… you never… tried with me, even after all the time we’ve spent together. So I didn’t… realize, I guess.”

“Oh. Well, you’re so new to this life, and… you’re the first one I’ve ever turned myself. I would never have wanted you to believe that you were obligated, because I sired you.” Yeosang told him in a low voice.

“Does it… turn you off?” Wooyoung asked, finally looking up again. “The fact that you… made me? Does it make things weird for you?”

Yeosang let out a breath that could have been a stuttered laugh or an affronted noise, it was anyone’s guess. “Make things… no, gods no, Wooyoung.”

The fledgling’s brow furrowed, but there was a spark of hope in his eyes. All those chaste kisses Yeosang gave him, he had seen them as quelling. Paternal, even. He couldn’t help but feel they were likely nothing but platonic, even if he’d wished they weren’t.

Yeosang took the other’s hands into his. “If anything I feel…  _ incredibly _ drawn to you. It’s almost instinctual, it’s  _ maddening _ , and—”

He could not finish his sentence, as his lap was suddenly filled with Wooyoung, the younger vampire kissing him as though it were the first and last he’d ever enjoy.

Yeosang let out a growl against his lips, as pleased as it was relieved. It was less like feeling all the tension leave him and more like an animal being loosed from its cage, wary but eager and  _ so so  _ grateful to be free.

“It’s been a little maddening for me, too.” Wooyoung admitted in the narrow space between fevered kisses. “It felt so childish, but, I can’t deny this, how much I want you…”

“ _ Wooyoung _ .” Yeosang hissed, divesting him of his pajama shirt without much regard to salvaging it, all but shredding the fabric off of him and tossing it away. Wooyoung was far more courteous, pulling Yeosang’s shirt off over his head before the two of them crashed together once more like a wave meeting the shore.

They managed to rid each other of the rest of their clothes without completely ruining them, mostly because Wooyoung made it his primary focus while Yeosang was busy trying to kiss every newly-exposed centimeter of flesh as he did. Once they were both naked, Wooyoung laid back and pulled Yeosang on top of him, crashing his mouth against the other’s so hard that their teeth clacked together. Neither of them seemed fazed, however, just continued seeking  _ more _ , needing to be closer, kiss harder,  _ anything _ .

Yeosang’s mouth worked against Wooyoung’s neck, canines retracted so his blunt teeth could rake harmlessly over the skin. He nibbled and sucked at a particular spot under Wooyoung’s ear until he was keening and the flesh purpled, but seconds later it faded away as though it had never been there. One disadvantage of vampirism was just how quickly those marks faded.

“Y-Yeosang…” Wooyoung huffed out, his voice a little strained. “You said my blood… it’s supposed to feel good to vampires, right? You can… you can bite me, if you want.”

“Oh Wooyoung, I have absolutely no intention of taking leave of my senses just yet.” Yeosang told him, laving the flat of his tongue over the other’s adam’s apple and up along his jaw. “I would have you in this way first, with my state of mind intact.”

That was probably the most eloquent way Wooyoung had ever been told by someone that they didn’t want to be—didn’t  _ need  _ to be—drunk or high just to fuck him. It wasn’t that Wooyoung was undesirable… it was just that in a world where having relations with other men was still seen by many as wrong or disgusting, he’d seen his fair share of self-hate in his partners.

There had been an entire social upheaval after the discovery of vampires but still, society insisted on giving a fuck over who people had sex with. It didn’t make any sense. What did make sense, however, was the sweet way Yeosang’s lips moved against his, without hesitance or remorse.

Perhaps it was the utter shamelessness, the complete surety with which Yeosang touched him, that made him realize  _ this _ was how it was supposed to be. He  _ deserved  _ this.

“Yeosang…” Wooyoung cooed, holding either side of his jaw with one hand to pull him away just enough to speak. “Want you… c’mon…”

“You have me.” Yeosang told him like a promise, running his hands over Wooyoung’s sides, all the way up until his thumbs skirted over his nipples. The man beneath him jerked, whining softly. “I’m all yours.”

“Then give me everything.” Wooyoung murmured, and it was almost goading, the way he grabbed his waist and pulled him in until their hips were flush, naked skin sliding against naked skin.

Yeosang grunted approvingly before he reached into his nightstand with practiced efficiency, coming back with a bottle of lube all but instantly. His eyes went dark at the way Wooyoung settled into the bed, letting his legs fall open like an invitation. 

He coated his fingers with the lube, moving them along the cleft of his ass, stroking teasingly. He ran the fingertips of his free hand over the vee of Wooyoung’s hips, down against the inside of his thigh, the most sensitive skin he could get at… all to watch the way it made him jerk and shiver.

“You can’t hurt me.” Wooyoung reminded him, leveling him with a hooded gaze. “We’re vampires. Don’t treat me like I’m made of glass.”

“I’ll treat you exactly as you deserve.” Yeosang countered, pressing two slicked-up fingers inside him with no further preamble and earning a sweet little gasp for his efforts. While it was true that they did have a little more leeway, that their bodies could take more than a human’s without experiencing pain, there were still physical barriers to consider. The friction wouldn’t be enjoyable for either of them without lube.

“Nnh—Yeosang,  _ please _ …” Wooyoung whined, squirming and bucking his hips down onto the other’s hand.

“Easy love… relax. We have all the time in the world.” Yeosang drawled. He moved his free hand to hold the other’s hips still, leaning down to murmur against his ear, “We have  _ eternity _ .”

Wooyoung let out a broken, punched-out little sound at that, because there was no better comfort than to think someone might want him for as long as  _ forever _ .

Yeosang blessedly didn’t spend too long prepping him… Wooyoung was too impatient for it, anyway, knowing he didn’t need it in the same way he had when he was human. After too long, he nudged his heels against the backs of Yeosang’s thighs, trying to pull him closer. He let out an amused little laugh and pulled his fingers back, grabbing the lube again to slick up his cock.

“ _ Yes _ .” Wooyoung hissed in satisfaction when he finally pressed the head of his cock against him, though he could not help but tease him by torturously nudging against him far too gently for several long seconds before he eventually pushed in. He lifted Wooyoung’s leg over his shoulder for a better angle, and once he did, the slide was  _ glorious _ .

Yeosang groaned as he finally bottomed out, turning his head to mouth over the inside of Wooyoung’s thigh, the curve of his knee, all while he kept his leg pinned over his shoulder with one hand. He settled there for a long moment, unmoving, as though letting the other adjust.

“ _ Move _ , damnit.” Wooyoung growled, and who was Yeosang to deny him?

He started slow, at first, to his credit… just a steady, rolling cadence that had Wooyoung mewling and groaning low and deep as he watched him with rapt attention, as though he were fascinated by whatever it was he saw in Yeosang’s eyes. That didn’t last, however, and it wasn’t long before he was using the leverage of his grip to pick up the pace, snapping his hips harder and faster as the sounds Wooyoung was making rose up and up and up.

“Perfect. You’re perfect.” Yeosang cooed, the kick of his hips slowing, but only as he made an effort to fuck him as deep as he possibly could. Wooyoung let out a high-pitched little bitten-off wail with every thrust and it was driving him wild.

“A-ah—Yeosang...” Wooyoung may have meant to say more, but his words were swallowed by his other senses. Everything was overwhelming… he heard more, saw more,  _ felt _ more than he ever had before as a human, and his brain was having trouble keeping up with all of the new sensations.

Yeosang let out a growl that rumbled in his chest, letting go of Wooyoung’s legs in favor of grabbing his hips. He laid back on the bed and pulled Wooyoung with him until the other was on top, straddling him, making sure he was settled securely on his knees.

Wooyoung’s spine curled forward a little as he let his weight rest on his palms on Yeosang’s chest. He didn’t  _ need _ to catch his breath but he still felt breathless, like his whole chest, his whole body was on fire in the best possible way. He moved his hips at the coaxing of Yeosang’s hands, pulling himself off before dropping back down, and  _ oh _ the positively feral sound that drew out of his sire lit an entirely new fire under his skin.

“Gods,  _ look at you _ …” Yeosang groaned. His gaze hadn’t left Wooyoung, locked on his eyes for long, intimate moments before they raked down his chest, over the jut of his collarbone, the curve of his neck and spine. He let his hands wander up the planes of Wooyoung’s chest while his own hips did all the work of meeting him on every rise and fall, pulling glorious sounds from him.

Wooyoung just whimpered, biting his lip hard when he caught himself being  _ too _ obscenely loud. Yeosang just gave the barest shake of his head, however, his hand trailing up until his thumb met his chin, tugging his lip from his teeth.

“I want to hear you.” Yeosang murmured, soft but commanding, and Wooyoung let out a whine that could have been heard down the hall even by someone with human ears.

Yeosang gave a pleased snarl, rutting his hips up hard one last time before stilling… but only for a moment. He grabbed Wooyoung again and rolled over so that he was on top once more, Wooyoung facing the opposite end of the bed this time. He didn’t even give him any time to adjust, just pushed his thighs up toward his chest and fucked him as though their pace had never slowed.

“Oh  _ fuck _ -!” Wooyoung moaned, his hands reaching above him for the headboard too late to realize it wasn’t there. His hands wandered, fingers scraping into the sheets, moving down to grab his own legs, Yeosang’s arms, his shoulders, anywhere he could reach. When Yeosang wrapped a hand around his cock, he bucked up hard. “Fuck, m’gonna come, Yeosang,  _ fuck _ !”

“Want to see you.” Yeosang murmured, his tone low and commanding but  _ trembling _ , barely maintaining a surface of composure. His eyes were pitch-black, dark with need as he ramped up his pace  _ just so _ , twisted his palm over him, just enough to make Wooyoung squirm.

“O-oh…  _ ohgodfuck _ —” Wooyoung keened, the rest of whatever sentence he’d tried to form ending up garbled in his throat as he shook and came all over his own chest. The drawn-out moan he’d managed to get past his lips was broken and staccato with every thrust as Yeosang continued fucking him, watching him with rapt fascination.

It wasn’t long, however, before Yeosang let out a feral sound and pulled out, jerking himself just twice before he was coming across Wooyoung’s abdomen, adding to the mess already painting his skin. Wooyoung wasn’t panting—there wasn’t a need—but he was trembling from head to toe, watching as Yeosang somehow managed to remain so composed even as he was falling apart.

Finally, Yeosang settled back on his heels, releasing himself to run his hands up the length of Wooyoung’s thighs, his chest. He leaned down and mouthed at the inside of his thigh, nipping softly at the skin and letting out a contented hum.

“Mm, you’re so beautiful…”

“God, that was…” Wooyoung didn’t know what that was. Words failed him.

“Mm… think I could keep you like this for  _ days _ …” Yeosang murmured, letting his tongue flick out against the base of his cock. He earned a hiss of surprise, Wooyoung peering down at him with a hazy expression.

“What happened to having eternity?” He asked with a humorous sort of edge that had Yeosang chuckling against the skin.

“Might as well take advantage, is all.”

“You’re trying to kill me.” Wooyoung accused, but he didn’t try to make him stop, either.

“Mm, good thing you’re immortal.” Yeosang said, looking up at him over the long line of Wooyoung’s chest before he grabbed him by his hips and flipped him over, pinning him down so his stomach was on the bed.

“Trying to ruin the sheets?” Wooyoung grunted, hardly a real protest.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t give a single fuck about the sheets.” Yeosang countered, grabbing at the curve of his ass with both hands. God, he didn’t think he’d ever seen a more gorgeous one in his entire life.

“I just figured you—oh  _ fuck! _ ” Wooyoung cursed when Yeosang pressed his tongue against his rim, pushing inside with no resistance at all.

Yeosang fucked him with his tongue as though it were as simple as anything else, as though he could control his pleasure with it just as well as he could with his fingers, his cock. He went as deep as he could, letting his teeth rest against the curve of his ass while he ran his tongue across that bundle of nerves inside him as though it were no great feat to do so.

“God  _ Christ  _ your fucking  _ tongue,  _ Yeosang!” Wooyoung babbled with his cheek pressed hard against the sheets, his hands gathering up the duvet just so he had something to hold onto, terrified he might shake apart otherwise.

Yeosang didn’t even take any pride in it… he was too focused on the way Wooyoung writhed under him, pushing back against him and tangling his fingers into the fabric of the duvet so violently he thought it might rip. If he could have an eternity of this, he thought, eternity might be worth living.

“Oh… oh fuck, Yeosang if you don’t stop I’m gonna come again…” Wooyoung warned, pushing himself up onto his elbows enough to look back at him. His spine looked obscene as it curved like that, and Yeosang nearly stopped to ask what was wrong with that, but he continued, “Want you to fuck me again… ngh…  _ please _ .”

Yeosang pulled away. That was agreeable enough. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, grabbing the lube again to slick up his cock before pressing back inside with none of the effort it had taken before. Wooyoung’s body took him like he was made for it.

Wooyoung gave a sated groan, collapsing back down onto his own arms and wiggling his hips back to encourage him to move. Yeosang did, digging his fingers into Wooyoung’s waist and pulling him back against him hard,  _ viciously _ , his pace ramping up to a fevered cadence with no preamble.

If Wooyoung had been worn out or tired before, there was no indication of it now… he pushed his hips back eagerly with every thrust, a chorus of sweet whimpers and sighs the perfect accompaniment to Yeosang’s soft groans of pleasure. Though he may have appeared composed, Yeosang was an absolute wreck, his hips shaking as he tried to keep his pace, letting go with one hand to wrap it around Wooyoung’s cock, coaxing him to another orgasm.

“G-god, yeah, just like that…” Wooyoung cooed, his own movements stilling as another wave of pleasure crashed over him, pulling him down into the undertow until he couldn’t move, couldn’t think, couldn’t exist for anything beyond Yeosang inside him, his hands on him, the way he made him feel like every last cell in his body was alight.

He might have managed to scream half a syllable of Yeosang’s name as he came again, harder this time, onto the sheets beneath him. He shook and trembled and melted, his cheek and chest and clavicle all feeling they’d become one with the mattress as he collapsed, Yeosang’s grip on him the only thing keeping his knees steady.

Yeosang cursed as he pulled out and came all over Wooyoung’s back and the curve of his ass. He gave a long, shuddering breath as they both came down. He let his free hand move down to run a finger through the mess, tracing little patterns like he was trying to rub it into his skin.

“Mm… fuck.” Wooyoung huffed out in a sated tone, having very little motivation to move just yet.

Yeosang just hummed contentedly, leaning down to kiss his shoulder while he petted over his hip.

“God, I feel fucking disgusting.” Wooyoung grumbled, stretching languid and cat-like as he peered over his shoulder at the mess on his back. He pouted before just plopping down on the sheets, too worn out to care as he rolled over and made an even worse mess of the bedsheets. Those could always be changed. “You got a thing for this or something? Is this one of your kinks?”

Yeosang shrugged, but he gave a slow, devilish smirk, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Well, you know how they say vampires can’t come inside without an invitation.”

Wooyoung stared at him for a solid two seconds before his eyes scrunched up and he burst out in a fit of hyena-pitched laughter, curling up and rolling around on the bed like it was the funniest thing he’d ever heard.  _ Gods _ Yeosang loved that laugh. He caught himself chuckling fondly under his own breath as he leaned down to kiss him when he finally stopped, wanting nothing more than to press every ounce of affection he had for him against his lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of the next chapter is written so hopefully I will have that for you all soon. I’m sorry this took so long, it’s hard to write smut for a fandom where there’s so little content to draw inspiration from v_v


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I return with another chapter which ended up going some places I hadn’t expected. I also, hilariously, had a note here saying not to expect such long chapters and that ch 4 was a fluke but uh we broke 10k with this one so I guess you get another long chapter after all!

Hongjoong knew, intrinsically, that the moment he rolled up to base, he was in for it from his team.

Sure enough, as soon as he came through the door, Yunho and Jongho both were entirely up in his space, though they at least managed not to talk all at once, taking turns berating him.

“Hey so uh, what the fuck was that?”

“What Jongho means is, we were worried.”

“You left, and you turned off your phone, and then you were gone all fucking night? I almost sent a search party?”

“He didn’t.” Yunho assured.

“Me. The search party was me, and Yunho-hyung. I have a broken leg! I can’t go chasing after your reckless ass like I usually would!” Jongho chided.

“Sorry.” Hongjoong grumbled, not really able to offer much more than that. “I had a… moment. It’s fine now, but… I’m sorry I couldn’t explain. I just didn’t want you to worry.”

“You ended up worrying us more!” Jongho snapped.

“We considered going out to the Coven of Twilight’s mansion in Seongnam, because you told us their leader was the one who made you his familiar.” Yunho said in a much more subdued tone. “We thought Seonghwa-ssi might have some idea where you’d gone.”

“Yeah, I was there.” Hongjoong murmured, eyes finding the floor. “I think I just… I thought I was having some kind of a reaction to the change, or something.”

“That’s not… really a thing. It’s all psychological.” Yunho replied, too easily.

“Yeah, I fucking know that now, thanks. I was psychoanalyzed by vampires all night and ended up sleeping over there because he convinced me driving late while I felt like my ribs were being pulled out of my chest was a bad idea.”

“I mean… yeah, you shouldn’t have even driven _out_ there. You could’ve asked one of us.” Jongho chided, knocking on the cast on his left leg. “I can’t get on a bike with this thing but I can still drive a car.”

“I didn’t want to involve you two. They have no real knowledge about my team… how many of you there are and what exactly you do. And I’d like to keep it that way.” Hongjoong explained. “If this whole thing goes sideways…”

“What? You feel like we’ll have a strategic advantage if they don’t know about us? If what goes sideways? Seonghwa-ssi doesn’t seem the type to suddenly turn on you.” Yunho reasoned.

Hongjoong scoffed. “You’ve never met him. How the hell would you know?”

“I’ve watched every video that exists surrounding the creation of the Human-Vampire Accords. He’s in, or mentioned in, every single one of them.” Yunho retorted smugly. “I like his interviews. He doesn’t seem like a complete pompous jerk like a lot of the other coven leaders do. I figured it’s because he’s one of the eldest.”

Hongjoong rolled his eyes. “You can’t trust the media persona. His age kind of makes him a little insufferable, actually. He’s a complete know-it-all.”

“Like, he’s constantly belittling you for not knowing things?” Yunho pressed. “Or does he just… know a lot of things you don’t?”

Hongjoong huffed, turning a little red as he looked away. “He knows like two-hundred languages or something ridiculous like that, and recited a whole damn poem in Chinese like it was nothing.”

“Right, but did he do it like he was waving his dick around?” Jongho asked. “Or are you leaving out some context?”

“Who cares about the context? I’m just saying, you can’t trust the personality someone puts on for the media.” Hongjoong bit back.

“Watch an interview or two, then. You’ve met him. You’ve been in a couple life-or-death situations with him. Watch them and tell me if that’s what he’s really like.” Yunho challenged.

Hongjoong sighed. “Fine, whatever. If it’ll make you forget about me being a dick and just dipping out last night with no explanation.”

“I’ll consider forgiving you, sure.” Yunho teased, smiling in a way that told Hongjoong he already had.

The hunter just rolled his eyes and headed for his room, grabbing his laptop.

Admittedly, when he’d first met Seonghwa, he wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. He didn’t want to get to know him any better, didn’t want to find out more about him… and he certainly didn’t want to revisit the situation where they’d first met. That entire hunt was a complete disaster, one Hongjoong would rather forget about.

Hongjoong only had to do a cursory search for ‘first vampire interviews’ for a half-dozen videos to pop up with Seonghwa in the thumbnail. There were plenty of memes, and a few anti-vampire videos condemning them, of course, but Hongjoong went straight for the source video, the one on the news site’s channel. It was from nearly twenty years prior, and Seonghwa still looked the same.

The video started with a lady anchor giving a brief—but dramatic—introduction, leading up to the interview, which was obviously pre-recorded and cut into the segment. The video transitioned, a male interviewer speaking, though he was off-camera.

_“Could you please introduce yourself.”_

_“Of course. My name is Park Seonghwa, I was born in the year nine-hundred-sixty, and I am a vampire.”_

_“You’re… quite old. But you don’t look a day over your twenties.”_

_“I was a young man when I was turned.”_ Seonghwa confirmed.

_“Some people may be wondering… you look quite like a human, with perhaps some minor differences. How is it that one can tell if someone is a vampire?”_

_“Well, for starters, I am sure you noticed when you shook my hand that our temperatures are much lower than a human’s. Our hearts don’t beat.”_ Seonghwa explained, smirking a bit. _“That and, we are having this interview after the sun has gone down.”_

 _“Quite right.”_ The interviewer replied with a soft laugh.

 _“In truth, though, I’d much rather focus on those things which we have in common.”_ Seonghwa continued. _“We were all human once. We are still the same people we were when we were human, just absent a beating heart. In the same way that there are humans which you may consider to have atypical neurology or bodily functions which vary from the perceived norm, we are thus. It is simply that you chose to assign us this designation, vampire, and strip us of our personhood in the eyes of society.”_

_“One might argue a person should have a beating heart.”_

_“Perhaps. But consider someone you know and love. A human today, a vampire the next. Nothing about them has changed, other than their physiology. Do they cease being your mother? Your brother? Your best friend? Your lover? Do they cease being those things because they are now called a vampire?”_

_“I can’t say. Do they?”_

_“No, they do not. Your mother will still remember reading you bedtime stories when you were young. Your brother will still remember playing with you in your youth. Your best friend will still remember the times you cried on their shoulder. Your lover will remember every pleasure and joy you have ever given them. They will still remember, and feel, and love.”_

There was something succinct about it, but Seonghwa’s tone was so earnest, and Hongjoong wondered why this interview didn’t change more hearts and minds. He scrolled through the comments as he continued listening. Most of them were thirsty, which made him grimace. The top-voted comment was something to the effect of, “If all vampires look like him, sign me up!”

There were plenty of comments condemning him, and other vampires, too… most citing biblical sources. One of the top comments that wasn’t to do with his appearance had a massive reply thread, which Hongjoong refused to expand: “Do not believe the lies of the serpent. ‘Vampire’ is merely another name for the devil. They will tempt you with promises of eternal life to steal you from God’s loving embrace. They should all be killed and sent to hell with Satan.”

Hongjoong didn’t think highly of vampires, but that was certainly a whole different brand of crazy. Having enough of that, he scrolled back up to the video because he realized he’d stopped paying attention to read. He’d heard Seonghwa rebuff a question about covens, claiming he wouldn’t divulge the exact number publicly but that his was a small group he considered to be like his family. After that, he’d missed whatever other questions were asked.

_“How many people have you killed?”_

Seonghwa, to his credit, didn’t even flinch.

_“How many wars have been fought on Korean soil since the Tenth Century? By your best guess?”_

_“I believe the viewers would agree that war is quite a different situation.”_

_“Is it? The answer is more than a dozen wars. Some invasions, some border skirmishes, some involving many other powers of the world. I lived through them all… fought in many of them.”_ Seonghwa said, and he sounded as though he was speaking to a child… not out of rudeness, but simply for how idiotic the interviewer’s question then seemed. _“Do you ask a soldier how many men he has killed? Or do you understand the gravity, the weight of that question, when its receiver has a beating heart?”_

_“If you cannot answer the question, is it because the number is quite high?”_

_“Cannot answer_ — _if a soldier were to etch his body-count into the stock of his rifle, you would call him a psychopath.”_ Seonghwa countered. _“I have lived more than ten soldiers’ lifetimes. I cannot possibly give an estimate. But I can say that it is lower than you might imagine. I detest war. I only fought in those which I was compelled to.”_

_“So you are claiming that you were a soldier, conscripted into several wars, and that is where you did all your killing.”_

_“All my killing… as though it is something I wished for or enjoyed, or something inherent to my nature. I can assure you it was not. And truthfully, I’d like to say that I could remember them all… remember their faces, their names, their dying words… it would make for a dramatic interview, wouldn’t it?”_ Seonghwa replied, his tone becoming bitter. _“But I only remember them the same way history does: as the bloodied corpses upon which this country was built.”_

Hongjoong exited the window. He didn’t need to hear any more. Seonghwa wasn’t much different then than how he knew him now… save perhaps the occasional flirtations. It didn’t bother him so much that the vampire hadn’t changed in nearly two decades, that he was still saying the same things so try to make humans understand that he wasn’t a monster. Not really.

But it twisted sharply in his gut to watch someone dismiss his responses and try to vilify his every answer… because he realized he’d done just the same.

***

Wooyoung knew that when he and Yeosang walked into the common area the next night, they weren’t going to hear the end of it… mostly from San. There were no marks on either of them, of course… they faded all but instantly thanks to their enhanced healing. They also shouldn’t have smelled of sex anymore, because they’d taken care, once they awoke, to shower it off—together, and that probably hadn’t been the most productive shower ever, but it _had_ been delightful—so that wasn’t a concern. But Wooyoung hadn’t been _quiet_ , exactly, and they had not been brief, either. In truth, he’d lost count of just how many times they’d both come… it went on for the rest of the night and well into the morning before Yeosang had finally pulled him into an admittedly filthy, but contended embrace, and they slept through what had remained of the day.

Sure enough, San had a knowing smile on his face as he stared at Wooyoung over his coffee cup, sipping smugly. The caffeine did nothing for him and it wasn’t in any way nourishing, but much like alcohol, the vampires tended to enjoy consuming them simply for the taste.

“Good evening.” He drawled, his dimples standing out starkly against his cheeks with the way he was grinning.

“Uh huh.” Wooyoung grunted back, feeling down to his bones he was about to get relentlessly teased.

“Oh, come on, it’s no fun if you basically ignore me!” San huffed.

“Maybe I don’t wanna make it fun for you.” Wooyoung quipped.

San scrunched up his nose, sticking his tongue at the other, only to have the gesture returned with crossed eyes added to the mix. Yeosang walked in, looked between the two of them, and just laughed, shaking his head.

San straightened out his face again and jumped up. “Hey, Yeosangie! If he won’t tell me, maybe you will!”

“Not a chance, San.” Yeosang responded flatly, kissing Wooyoung’s temple as he passed by to grab his tablet so he could check the news.

“C’mooooon! I gotta know, how was it? Is he head-over-heels for vampire dick yet?” San wheedled.

“San!” Yeosang and Seonghwa, who had just entered the room with Mingi, barked in unison.

“Oh my _god_ you’re all such buzzkills.” San lamented, draping back over his chair dramatically. “I hate this family!”

“Honestly, they don’t owe you anything after that stunt you pulled in the feeding room.” Mingi reminded him.

“You say that as though you weren’t _literally_ party to that.” San snapped. “Or was I riding someone else’s co—”

The word petered off into a shriek as Mingi tackled him to the ground, tipping over the chair and sending them both tumbling across the floor. San yelled and writhed, trying to get out of his grip, to no avail.

Wooyoung cackled, all but falling against Yeosang in hysterics. He went on for at least thirty seconds before Yeosang braced him with an arm around his waist, nosing against his ear.

“Mm, you keep laughing like that and I’ll have you right on the coffee table. That’ll show them just how much you love it.”

Wooyoung honest-to-god _squeaked_ , clamping his mouth shut.

Seonghwa stared between the four of them, face impassive but his eyes speaking to just how much shit he’d seen and put up with to have literally no outward reaction. The chaos didn’t remotely faze him.

“I expect,” He started, tone void of inflection, “... that our favorite hunter will be making an appearance either today or tomorrow. So please keep that in mind. Not that I care which face you choose to show him, but I imagine you would prefer to make yourselves scarce.”

“Yeah. Sorry but I still don’t trust that guy.” Mingi said from where he was now comfortably lying on top of San, pinning him to the floor.

“As is your right.” Seonghwa replied.

“Are you not-so-subtly telling us to stay out of your way so you can finally get him to let you fuck him?” San asked, a little strained from under Mingi’s weight.

Seonghwa let out a patient sigh. “Would that I could at least get him to the point of not despising me, first.”

“Who says you have to? Hate sex is valid.” San added, resigning himself to being stuck under Mingi and not fighting him anymore. “I fucked this hunter once outside the clubs in Seoul, god that was some wild shit. Despised vampires with a passion, so I think it turned her on. She was an animal.”

“Oversharing.” Yeosang muttered.

“No, it’s fine, I’m fully invested in this story now.” Wooyoung said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

“In any case,” Seonghwa continued, raising his voice only marginally, “You may throw a banquet in the foyer while he’s here for all I care, I only wished to remind you, given Mingi’s misgivings and Wooyoung’s previous run-in with him.”

“He was all right before.” Wooyoung murmured, thinking back to that last time they’d met. “I was kind of a dick to him, honestly.”

“I’m sure he can handle it.” Mingi grunted, finally rolling off of San.

“Yeah, I bet he’s not used to someone copping an attitude with him… he probably likes it.” San added, sitting up only to flop onto Mingi’s chest, the both of them just lying there on the carpet like it was normal.

“Hey now, I thought we were trying to get him with Seonghwa?” Wooyoung laughed, leaning against the largest sofa.

“That’s been the long game, for these guys anyhow. I still don’t like him.” Mingi grumbled.

“Ever since they first met they’ve just had this… I don’t know. Tension.” San said, shivering dramatically with his shoulders.

Seonghwa huffed. “Come now—”

“How _did_ they meet, anyhow?” Wooyoung asked, curious.

“Ooh! It’s a great story!” San squealed, sitting up and patting the couch cushions like he was banging on a large bongo. Wooyoung took the hint and sat down.

“Do we really have to go through this?” Seonghwa protested in a flat tone.

“Yes! Wooyoung deserves _context_!” San insisted.

Yeosang squeezed Seonghwa’s arm with an apologetic sort of look and a shrug. Mingi, meanwhile, had sat up behind San and draped himself over his back, chin resting on his shoulder and arms wrapping around his waist.

“Okay! So, this was like… a year ago, maybe a year and a half. What’s time? Anyway, hunter-boy is on the trail of this absolutely fucking psychotic vampire. We do not talk about that guy because he was out of his ever-loving mind.”

“I feel like there’s a lot of exaggeration going on here.” Wooyoung mumbled.

“No, while San’s… colorful language may make it sound that way, the vampire did indeed suffer from a very severe form of psychosis.” Seonghwa said. “His existence has also largely been… buried by the community.”

“Huh. Seonghwa… are you a psychologist? Like, do you have degrees?” Wooyoung asked.

“Only one formal degree legal by today’s standards, which I obtained officially after vampires’ existence was made public knowledge. But before that, I just studied psychology and medicine of my own volition.” Seonghwa answered.

“I think he’s read every credible publication on the subject.” Yeosang added with a proud grin.

“Wasn’t San supposed to be telling a story?” Seonghwa said.

“Oh so _now_ you _want_ him to tell it?” Mingi teased, earning him a glare.

“ _So anyway_ , the lunatic vampire. He’s actually offing _vampires_ … so _all_ the local covens got involved. Seonghwa doesn’t usually want us getting tangled up in that kind of stuff but it had everyone on edge and we were all theoretically in danger—”

“More than theoretically.” Seonghwa protested. “I watched him rip the throat out of that poor Coven of Power fledgling, gods rest him.”

“Fine. We were all in real, imminent danger.” San amended in a grave tone. “The bureau didn’t bother putting out a sanction on this creep because he was only killing vampires… that they knew of. Turned out he was turning humans against their will and keeping them captive to satisfy his urge for fledgling blood, though, and he was so crazed he couldn’t control himself and killed each and every one of them.”

“I remember hearing about a killer vampire on the news, but they never said the humans he’d killed had been turned first. That was probably… two or three years ago, I think.” Wooyoung murmured.

“The entire incident was largely kept under wraps. Everyone agreed it would cause further friction between humans and vampires.” Seonghwa explained. “That and the bureau did not want to admit they had let a vampire continue killing unchecked without a sanction because they believed there had been no human victims.”

“That’s horrible.” Wooyoung said with a grimace. “They just left him to kill other vampires like it was fine?”

“They told us to handle it ourselves.” Yeosang responded, his voice clipped at the bitter memory. “That was when we realized there were not actually any laws prohibiting the killing of vampires by other vampires… the wording in the accords only protected humans.”

“Truly I should have noticed… but the wording used was “persons”. And the courts claimed that a vampire was not a “person”... not in the legal sense. That was later overruled, but that’s entirely beside the point.” Seonghwa lamented. “In the meantime, we questioned the legality of killing one of our own. We questioned our ability to… while we may be naturally stronger and faster than humans, so few of us are hunters. But I went… with a hunter who was, himself, a vampire. And that is when I met Hongjoong.”

“The bureau finally put out a sanction as a ‘courtesy’.” Yeosang scoffed. “And your precious hunter acted as though he was doing us such a favor.”

“I was telling the story!” San huffed, slapping his thighs loudly to grab everyone’s attention. “Anyway! Yes, hunter-boy was basically saying how vampires should clean up their own messes and not get humans involved at all.”

“At the time, they didn’t know about the turned humans.” Mingi added. “Or else maybe he might have at least pretended to care.”

“But then, Seonghwa says to him… he says…” San dropped his voice dramatically low, talking through pursed lips. “‘If you leave the vampires to go around killing amongst themselves with no consequence, just what kind of vampires do you believe will be left to stand beside humanity?’ Oh, it was _so_ cool. The look on hunter-boy’s face! It was like he was pissed but he knew Seonghwa was right.”

“I’m proud to say that was an exact quote. Good memory, San.” Seonghwa murmured. He was grinning softly, but he had a faraway look on his face.

“I remember everything.” San replied with a wink and a mischievous little smile. “So, Seonghwa goes with a few of the other coven leaders, some brave vampire fledglings, this hunter vampire and of course, hunter-boy. They manage to track the vampire to this remote ravine… and I’ve only heard this from secondhand accounts but the place was just _riddled_ with corpses. It was a horror show.”

“You know, Seonghwa… you could give a firsthand account.” Yeosang said gently.

Seonghwa let out a slow breath. “I suppose I could. I’m not much of a storyteller, I’m afraid… not like San. The mad vampire, he attacked us, of course. Killed the hunter vampire and one fledgling and the other coven leaders scattered. I understood why. If I had to watch that happen to one of you, I…”

Yeosang rested a hand on Seonghwa’s shoulder when he couldn’t finish his sentence. “We know.”

“But I didn’t leave, because I knew you wouldn’t be safe until he was stopped.” Seonghwa continued. “It was just Hongjoong and I. I looked at him and I asked him why he was still there, after watching a hunter who was a vampire, who was stronger and faster than him, have his head removed from his shoulders like he was some doll.”

“What did he say?” Wooyoung asked, eyes wide and rapt with attention.

“He’s not one for dramatics. He just said, ‘Someone has to.’ And we knew it had to be us.” Seonghwa answered.

“And you did it? You killed the crazed vampire?” Wooyoung pressed.

“We did.” Seonghwa confirmed. “Nearly died for it. Well, Hongjoong was fine. I took the brunt of it, I think.”

“Wow, that was so lame and anti-climactic. I did it better.” San grumbled.

“Sorry if my life-or-death tale was not dramatic enough for you.” Seonghwa replied, shaking his head. “Perhaps they’ve just become rote to me at this point.”

“Whatever, you could make anything amazing sound boring.” San jumped up, then, pulling Mingi with him. “Come on, we promised to grind on Smash until we can beat Wooyoungie.”

Mingi groaned. “Why can’t you just accept he might just be better than—”

“If you finish that sentence I swear I won’t suck your dick for a week.” San snapped.

“Like you could last that long.” Mingi quipped with a sly smirk, and while San did swat his chest, his expression said the other was onto something.

Seonghwa rolled his eyes. “And with that, I take my leave. I’ll not be dragged into another of your tournaments.”

“Good, you suck anyway!” San called after him as he left the room, earning him the middle finger from the retreating vampire.

Mingi and San play-wrestled their way out of the room, heading for the arcade room. It was nice and quiet, then, with just Yeosang and Wooyoung and the gentle false flames of the faux fireplace.

Yeosang slipped onto the couch next to Wooyoung, who immediately laid his head in his lap. Yeosang petted through his hair and gazed down at him with a fond sort of look. “Something on your mind?”

Wooyoung shrugged. “I don’t know. Just seems like there’s so much I don’t know about you all, you know?”

“We’ve all lived considerably longer than you.” Yeosang reminded with a placating smile.

“Yeah, but. I’m part of this coven, right? This family?” Wooyoung asked, his voice so so soft.

Yeosang nodded, his thumb brushing over the other’s cheek. “Of course. If there are things you wish to know, you may ask them.”

“I guess I was… curious.” Wooyoung replied, pressing his lips together. “Why is it that Seonghwa turned all the others himself, but not me?”

“We didn’t know I could until recently.” Yeosang explained. “We didn’t find any other vampires until the early 1900’s, and we didn’t exactly compare notes. Seonghwa didn’t know he wasn’t the first or only vampire, or even what he _was_ , until then. It wasn’t until knowledge became more readily available about vampires in the 2000’s that we realized that _any_ of us would be able to turn another. We’d… never tried. We don’t come inviting people into this life aloofly as others might. It is a heavy thing.”

“So you and Seonghwa only ever turned people who were dying.” Wooyoung surmised.

“Yes. Seonghwa was made because he was dying, too.”

“He was _made_. He doesn’t have a sire?” Wooyoung clarified.

Yeosang shook his head. “He told me once, long ago, right after he turned me. He said he was the apprentice of a great healer. He fell ill and the healer tried to cure him. When he passed on, he did not stop trying. Something he did… the herbs, the rituals… it brought him back from the dead, as what he is now.”

“Wow.”

“He doesn’t talk about it much… I think he doesn’t want humans to try to replicate the process. But he is without a sire.”

“And what about you? I know he turned you, but… when? Was it soon after that?” Wooyoung asked.

“No, I’m only around a hundred and… forty, or so? I’ll be honest, we don’t celebrate birthdays. It seems pointless.” Yeosang answered.

“Oh. San said Seonghwa was over a thousand. I thought that… you two had been together longer than a hundred years.” Wooyoung murmured. “But Seonghwa was really all alone for nearly a thousand years?”

“Mm, about nine-hundred of them, yes. He mentioned having familiars, but that it became overwhelming. He tried to use his blood to heal people but they became maddeningly dependant upon it after a time, if they were weak-willed. So he stopped. We did not meet until the 1890’s.” Yeosang told him. “At the end of the Joseon Era. I mentioned, my uncle was a king. The last before the war. Well, _that_ war.”

“And Mingi came along a little while after?” Wooyoung continued.

“Yes, in the 1940’s, World War II. He was a soldier, he saved our lives when we were fleeing to safety. Enemy artillery nearly killed him, and I… I begged Seonghwa to save him as he’d saved me.”

“And he did.”

“Yes, he… he had changed me by accident, but it wasn’t difficult to replicate once he knew how. You must drain a person first of their blood, then give them your own. Humans’ blood has antibodies in it which eventually destroys a vampire’s. That’s what happens with familiars… their bodies eventually reject the foreign blood, so they come back for more. Usually because whatever ails them comes back.”

“So that’s why that hunter will have to keep coming back?” Wooyoung guessed.

“Exactly right.”

“What about San?” Wooyoung asked.

“He was gravely injured during the 625 Upheaval; the Korean War. Just a bystander… not a soldier. I think Seonghwa felt so for him because of that.” Yeosang replied. “We feared he would resent this life… he was so kind and innocent and bright. But he took to it so well, saw the beauty in it… honestly, we credit San with making these last few decades so much warmer than the ones before.”

Wooyoung smiled fondly up at his sire. “I’m not surprised to hear that at all. San seems… like that kind of person. He made me feel welcome when I was worried no one was going to really accept me.”

“Did I not make you feel welcome?” Yeosang teased, trying to sound affronted.

“Of course you did. I just meant… Mingi was kind of hard to read at first, and Seonghwa was pretty ambivalent.” Wooyoung clarified, sitting up. “You made me feel the most welcome of all.”

Yeosang grinned, leaning forward to gently kiss the corner of Wooyoung’s mouth. “Good. You belong here, with us. You’re just as much a part of this coven as any of us… no matter how long we’ve been here. Don’t ever believe you are not important or considered, or that we love you any less for being newly-turned. Our hearts were yours the moment you joined us.”

Wooyoung felt tears spring to his eyes, and buried his face into Yeosang’s shoulder to hide them. He could have lived an entire human lifetime and never felt as loved as he did with him, with all of them… and it burned warmly in his chest where his heart sat, still and cold.

***

Hongjoong should have gone back to Seongnam yesterday.

He was already starting to feel those familiar aches and pains of his edge back in, and when he was handling one of his knives and foolishly cut himself, while it stopped bleeding almost immediately, it did not fully heal.

But, when he walked out into the common area, Yunho waved a piece of paper at him, enticing.

“It’s not a sanction, but I’ve got some weird stuff you might want to look into.”

It was true that it was not a sanction. What it was, however, was the well-spun theory created and supported by several hunters, self-proclaimed vampire experts, people in the business like Yunho—who were not hunters but worked closely with them—and probably more than a few internet keyboard warriors.

Over the past two years, there had been an uptick in kidnappings… assumed to be of the human trafficking variety. But the people who were going missing did not always seem to fit the typical victimology of such, especially not of late. More men, _older_ men, were beginning to disappear at an alarming rate.

Hongjoong wasn’t the first hunter to look into it… and he likely wouldn’t be the last. Perhaps it was hubris that led him to his usual haunts in downtown Seoul, questioning his associates on what they might’ve seen. Maybe he thought he’d be the one to crack this. But hours went on and he’d found nothing of merit. These were all people who didn’t seem to be missed… which probably spoke to the sad state of humanity more than anything else. The thought rolled around bitterly in Hongjoong’s skull. If no one else would care what happened to these people, he would.

Except, it didn’t seem to matter if he cared or not. No one had any leads he could act on. Most of them had already been exhausted by those who tried before him. As the sun sank, he felt his confidence and his hopes sinking with it.

With the darkness encroaching, he focused on the vampire venues. He was not exactly welcomed in those establishments, but most of the patrons knew not to make an enemy of him and cooperated as well as they could. They, unfortunately, also seemed to have little for him, and he left empty-handed.

As he headed back into the chilly night, he felt a sharp pain knife through his chest, and clutched at his shirt with a grunt of pain. He was pushing himself. He should have gone to see Seonghwa hours ago, but he kept putting it off. He was going to kill himself if he wasn’t careful.

He sent off a text as he climbed on his bike before pocketing his phone. At least he’d bothered to send _something_ to Yunho, lest his team think he was AWOL again.

_Dead end on your conspiracy theory. Heading to Seongnam. Don’t wait up. -HJ_

He could feel the response vibrate softly in his pocket as he pulled out onto the main road, and he found himself thinking on all those people who’d gone missing. Just how many unanswered texts had been left to languish, their senders having no closure on just what happened to the person on the other end of the line?

***

When the sun rose and Hongjoong still had not shown up, Seonghwa grew a bit concerned. He would be needing his blood soon… he considered going to find him, or trying to contact him, but both of those things were liable to cause the hunter to resent him even further.

And so, he chose to settle into his bed and hide away from the late morning sun, letting sleep take him as he wondered if the night would see the hunter come to him once more. Seonghwa’s thoughts were on him, so it was not so surprising that when his dreams claimed him, he was there, as though he’d been waiting for him.

 

_Hongjoong stood beside him, but they were not in the mansion. They were not in Seoul, either. No… they were in a remote place, at the mouth of a great gorge, a ravine stretched before them like the gaping maw of some mythical beast. The air was rank with death, the tang of blood and rotting flesh soaked into the air. It was familiar, but only in the sense that Seonghwa had been here once before. There were others with them… or there was supposed to be. There had been? Memories and dreams both became tangled in Seonghwa’s mind. It became impossible to tell what was real anymore, if anything was at all._

_They walked through that river of corpses, flesh and sinew squelching underfoot. Every one of the bodies was headless, and every head was without its body. It was impossible to say which belonged to which. Several voices overlapped. Hongjoong’s. The coven leaders’. His own._

_“They are all fledglings. All turned before they died.”_

_“These must be the missing people.”_

_“Some of these have been here for months.”_

_“—don’t recognize these scents, none of ours—”_

_The others who were standing with them—and yet not—seemed to phase in and out of existence. But then, the mad vampire came, and he snatched them up all the same. First, the hunter—the vampire—who dared throw himself at him. He ripped him in two as though he were some paper doll, a gout of blood spilling out of him like a fountain. The fledgling was next, from the Coven of Power. The mad vampire leapt upon him as a lion did upon a gazelle, tearing out his throat with his teeth before gorging himself of his blood._

_The other coven leaders were suddenly gone; vanished, no longer phasing in and out of focus but disappeared altogether. It was just him, the mad vampire, and Hongjoong._

_Hongjoong, who had taken out his shotgun, turned off the safety and cocked it. He looked to Seonghwa, but there was no fear on his face. Just… acceptance._

_“You saw what he did to the other hunter.” Seonghwa heard himself say. He could hear the millions of things he wished he’d had the time to say rattling around in his head, but he knew they only had seconds before the mad vampire was on them, and so he only asked: “Why stay? Why fight him?”_

_“Someone has to.” Hongjoong had told him, as the mad vampire tossed away the fledgling’s corpse._

_The hunter raised his gun. The mad vampire lunged. Seonghwa moved, too. He could see the corded muscles of the hunter’s arm pull taut, the flex of his finger, the first flash of gunpowder… but the mad vampire narrowly dodged, his claws moving to swipe._

_Seonghwa put himself between them, the vampire’s claws raking across his back and tearing flesh. He hissed in pain as he was knocked off his feet, scrambling to regain his footing._

_“I will hold him off.” Seonghwa said, looking into the hunter’s eyes and seeing his own determination reflected there, now, too. “Just shoot him.”_

_A blur of gunpowder and blood and claws rushed past as shots echoed in the ravine, one after the other. But the mad vampire dodged them all, or managed to take a bullet only in the places which mattered least: a limb, a graze at his shoulder. Nowhere damaging. Nowhere threatening._

_Seonghwa was a bloody mess. He wouldn’t be standing much longer at this rate. He couldn’t continue protecting Hongjoong for much longer. This shot, this one had to count. It hadn’t been two seconds since the last shot rang out but it had felt like hours, and when the mad vampire closed in, Seonghwa threw himself in the way just in time._

_Clawed fingers dug into his side, piercing deep, but Seonghwa bit down a cry of pain as he braced the barrel of Hongjoong’s gun against his own shoulder, nodding._

_Only a click resounded._

_Seonghwa cursed his own stupidity for not counting the rounds, and Hongjoong did too. The mad vampire brought his other arm up, aiming for Hongjoong. Seonghwa grabbed his wrist just in time, but one claw still managed to stab deep into the hunter’s shoulder, causing him to flinch with a shout of pain and drop his useless gun._

_Seonghwa did all that he could. He ripped the mad vampire off of Hongjoong, kicking the hunter away from them both. He ended up sprawled out several paces away, and Seonghwa saw him climb to his feet just as the mad vampire gripped hard at his scalp, bending his neck back and pulling, as though he intended to rip him in two. Seonghwa held onto the mad vampire’s wrists, tugging with all his might, knowing that the moment his grip failed him he would be dead._

_But Hongjoong was back on his feet. Hongjoong had closed the distance between them, a razor-wire bolo glinting in his hands. He lunged, wrapping it around the mad vampire’s neck and throwing all his weight into it as he tumbled behind him, shearing his head clear off._

_He fell into a bloody heap, and Seonghwa hit the ground, shaking. He’d lost too much blood. He wouldn’t be conscious for much longer._

_For a long moment, the hunter just stood there, watching him. He tossed away the bloody wire, regarding him._

_“You’ll go into a catatonic state if I leave you like this.” Hongjoong said, as though he was stating an irrelevant fact._

_Seonghwa nodded shakily._

_“How much do you need? To be able to stand on your own two feet?”_

_“N-not much, for an old vampire like me.” Seonghwa told him._

_Hongjoong seemed to wrestle with himself for a moment. And then, he knelt, grabbing Seonghwa by his shirt and pulling him to sit up, until the vampire’s face was right against his shoulder; his bloody, wounded shoulder. “Go on, then. It’s wasted on the ground anyway. But don’t bite me.”_

_He cocked his shotgun and put it against Seonghwa’s neck. Seonghwa didn’t care. He latched his lips over the wound, lapping up the blood eeking out before he suckled gingerly at the laceration until it gave him more. He’d never tasted blood like his before… the metallic tang tempered with something he couldn’t name, something he’d never come across, not once in a thousand years. It wasn’t exactly sweet, but it_ was _the sweetest thing he’d ever tasted._

_He felt his wounds closing up… not entirely, but some. He felt his strength return… enough to lift a hand and brace himself against the hunter’s side, grounding. Then, it was enough to wrap his fingers into the mesh of his vest, tugging. He did not want to stop, but he wanted to be told to. He knew he would if he was asked._

_“That’s enough.” Hongjoong said, finally, yanking Seonghwa back._

_There was blood staining his lips and chin, making him appear every bit the monster Hongjoong told him he was, when he said, “Thank you.”_

_Hongjoong stared silently, for too long. This wasn’t how it went… no. He’d made some fresh quip and helped him to his bike. Had driven him back to his mansion. Had left him on the doorstep, a bit unceremoniously, but he had brought him home._

_Now, Hongjoong was staring at him with disdain and disgust as he stood. He lifted his shotgun, leveled it squarely upon Seonghwa’s face, and fired._

 

Seonghwa jolted awake, but it did not take him time to get his bearings. He knew where he was. He knew what had happened. He knew he had been remembering that day… in the wake of being asked to recall it. He knew. But it still shook him to his core, the way his mind had twisted the memory, had tainted it.

“Hm… I haven’t dreamt of that night for some time.” Seonghwa murmured into the empty darkness of his own room, only speaking to himself. He climbed out of bed and regarded the pocket watch on his nightstand. “Nearly sundown. He surely plans to come tonight.”

And, sure enough, a trilling bell rang through the mansion, signaling that someone was at the door. It was as though his dream waking him when it did was of some divine providence.

When he came out of his room, the others were in the hallway already.

“Will you be greeting our guest with me?” Seonghwa asked in too kind a tone, his expression somewhat goading.

“No, just keep him downstairs, would you? We’ll keep to ourselves up here.” Mingi grumbled. “We’re taking your room, though, since it has the biggest bed.”

“Very well.” Seonghwa replied agreeably, waving a dismissive hand. “If he makes for the stairs, I’ll tear his limbs off.”

“Good call.” Mingi quipped, going back into his room to grab his laptop before heading for Seonghwa’s room. San grabbed Wooyoung and dragged him along, and Yeosang followed after them.

Down in the foyer, Seonghwa swung the door open, staring at the hunter who stood so unassumingly in his entryway.

Hongjoong cleared his throat awkwardly. “Hi.”

“Hello, Hongjoong-ah. Make yourself at home.” Seonghwa said, motioning to the shoe rack and slippers by the door.

The hunter changed into them, looking around warily. “I’m getting the distinct impression the rest of your coven doesn’t like me very much.”

“They still fear for Wooyoung’s safety.” Seonghwa explained. “It is hard for them to trust you, even though you have made no move to harm him. They cannot… see your heart, as I do.”

“What is _that_ supposed to mean?” Hongjoong asked in an almost offended tone.

“Such hostility.” Seonghwa replied with a small laugh, moving into the living room as the other followed. “It isn’t difficult to guess why you hate vampires so emphatically. Your father was a hunter, I know that much. I know he met a tragic end… it’s a nasty business, as you’re aware. Your mother… I must assume, isn’t in the picture. She could have left but… I’m sensing she probably passed away.”

“Don’t fucking psychoanalyze me.” Hongjoong spat.

“I don’t have to. It’s written all over your face… in your eyes… if someone only bothers to look.” Seonghwa told him. “People hold their grief differently, but it’s easy to see when it’s there.”

“You just live for making me out to be some weak, pathetic human, huh?” Hongjoong gritted out.

“It isn’t a personal failing, Hongjoong-ah. It’s a fundamental flaw of your species.” Seonghwa clarified. “You humans hardly have enough time to process grief. Sometimes you can spend your whole life coming to terms with that one thing which tore a proverbial hole in your heart, and once you do… it seems like your time on this earth comes to an end too soon.”

Hongjoong crossed his arms, frowning at him. “Not that it’s any of your fucking business, but yeah, my mom died. Cancer.”

Seonghwa’s brows knit together momentarily, as though he hadn’t been expecting such as the cause of death. But a light came to his eyes, then, and he understood.

“Cancer can easily be kept at bay by vampire blood… by becoming a familiar. She refused, didn’t she?”

Hongjoong just grunted, looking away.

“That’s why you were so hesitant to accept my offer at first. Your mother chose to die rather than to accept a vampire’s blood.” Seonghwa surmised. “It is sometimes… hard to accept that our parents are not always paragons of truth. That their ideals are not always righteous, or correct.”

“Look, I get it, okay.” Hongjoong bit back. “My mother’s ignorance killed her, or whatever. My dad’s pride probably killed him. I’m the living embodiment of all their fuck-ups. Happy?”

“Hongjoong-ah… I don’t believe that at all. You are firmly your own person. That you accepted my gift at all is proof of that.” Seonghwa said softly, giving him a meaningful look.

“Yeah, well, ah-!” Hongjoong hissed and clutched his chest, staggering. Seonghwa dove forward and steadied him, watching with concern. “M-my heart, it…”

“It’s the shrapnel starting to bite into the muscle. It may not be healing as well around the area any more.” Seonghwa told him as the hunter straightened up and moved away from his grip.

“So how does this… whole thing work? Should I…?” Hongjoong grabbed at the hem of his own shirt, tugging on it for emphasis. “Y’know, do you need to get at my neck or something?”

“No, Hongjoong-ah. You only need to take some of my blood, as before.” Seonghwa explained patiently.

“That’s it? You don’t need to… bite me, or something?” The hunter asked, his voice low.

“Need to? No, not at all.” Seonghwa said. “Familiars often wish to be fed upon, for the endorphin rush it affords, or the intimacy of the act. But my blood will work on you without all that.”

“...oh.”

“Something wrong?”

Hongjoong made a face. “It’s just that… this is all… very different than I pictured.”

“Mm, I have a feeling I know just what you pictured.” Seonghwa drawled, biting his lip around an amused little grin. “You just supposed that, by now, you would be bound to my whims, fighting against the fog in your brain to maintain control, all but gagging for it as you begged me for more.”

He did not miss the way Hongjoong inhaled sharply, looking away and trying to will his face not to flush, without much success. “I… knew that only people with _weak wills_ —”

“It’s not _always_ about that. People willingly submit.” Seonghwa reminded him coolly. “People can become addicted to the blood in the same way they become addicted to opiates, to pain medication… they seek the relief it brings. But feeding is more… intimate in nature. It is an addiction of a different sort.”

“I wouldn’t trust a vampire to bite me.” Hongjoong muttered. “Hell, I hardly trust vampires _not_ to bite me.”

Seonghwa cocked his head curiously “And why is that?”

“I wouldn’t trust them to stop.”

Seonghwa regarded him for a short moment. “Would you trust a human to stop, if you were intimate with them, and you decided you wanted it to end?”

Hongjoong shrugged. “I guess it would depend on the human.”

“It would also depend on the vampire.” Seonghwa countered with a smirk. “We aren’t mindless monsters, you know. Blood on our tongues or not.”

“So you say.” Hongjoong grumbled.

There was a long pause before either of them spoke again.

“Well, then… while I’m rather fond of your company, I’m sure you’re quite tired of mine. Shall we?” Seonghwa eventually asked. When he lifted a finger to his own tongue, the hunter made a sound of protest.

“That, again? Isn’t there another way for you to… do that?”

“Certainly. Would you like it right from the vein?” Seonghwa suggested, holding out a hand and laying his fingernails against the wrist. “I would think that was a little… feral, for your taste.”

Hongjoong grimaced. He knew the blood had to come straight from Seonghwa, that it wouldn’t work otherwise… but that didn’t mean he had to like it. “The… other way is fine.”

Seonghwa had the good manners enough not to gloat, at least, just offering a too-amicable grin as he closed the space between them and brought his tongue between his teeth, biting down until he broke skin. He let the blood pool there for a second or two before he took Hongjoong’s jaw in one hand and pulled him in until their lips met.

The hunter didn’t jerk away this time, just stood there, stock-still and took it, tipping his head back a little to swallow. It felt a lot like drinking alcohol without the impact on his mental state… he’d read that vampire blood had that effect on other vampires, but it wasn’t the same for humans. What he did feel, however, was the way it soothed his pain, the sharp feeling in his chest fading away, the aches of his old injuries disappearing where they had begun to edge back in.

As the bite knit itself closed, Seonghwa raked his tongue across his canine teeth again, reopening it. He pressed his tongue back into Hongjoong’s mouth, encouraging him to take more of it. The hunter seemed hesitant to do so, but when Seonghwa flicked the tip of his tongue over the other’s soft palate, Hongjoong nearly choked, letting out a surprised grunt and sucking on Seonghwa’s tongue just to ensure he wouldn’t gag on the blood drizzling from it.

Seonghwa’s entire chest rumbled with a pleased, almost contented growl at the action, and Hongjoong started to lose himself to it, a little. He hadn’t even realized there was no longer the metallic taste of blood shared between them, that they had been kissing just for the sake of it, until several long minutes had passed. Finally, he pulled back, catching his breath and watching the other warily.

“I wonder… you claim that you do not trust vampires. But will you let me _earn_ your trust?” Seonghwa asked in a voice like ash and smoke as he ran his tongue from the tip of Hongjoong’s chin to his upper lip. The hunter suppressed a shiver.

“And just how would you plan on doing that?” He asked, trying not to sound as breathless as he was.

Seonghwa gave him a long, smoldering look before he spoke again, mere centimeters from his lips. “Just tell me when to stop.”

He leaned in and kissed him once more, though there was no pretext, no blood on his tongue this time.

He wasn’t scared… he knew Seonghwa wouldn’t kill him. But some part of him wanted to watch the vampire's resolve crumble despite his claims. He wanted to prove that he was right, that a vampire couldn’t be trusted… not really. He wanted the other to break, to bite him just so he would know he was right about him, about all of them.

But now, Seonghwa was doing nothing but kissing him and kissing him _well_ , bringing his hand up to tilt his chin, get him at just the right angle to lick into his mouth in a way that made Hongjoong wonder if he’d ever been kissed that well before. He’d never kissed a vampire, kissed someone with a _thousand years_ of experience, and he was loath to admit that it was like nothing he’d ever experienced.

Seonghwa’s hands moved down, finding Hongjoong’s. He pulled both of the hunter’s arms over his head and pinned them to the wall with just one hand around his wrists, his grip not painful, but firm enough that he couldn’t simply wrench away. Hongjoong felt a twinge—just a twinge—of fear, wondering just what he would do if he wanted to fight back. But then, he realized, that was the point the vampire was making. He could strip away _every ounce_ of Hongjoong’s control… he had that ability. What he did with it was what mattered.

Seonghwa pulled back to let him breathe, planting a kiss at the corner of his mouth, his jaw, then lower still, down to his neck. He felt him press his lips against his jugular, knew he had to be able to feel the blood pumping there, just beneath the surface, hear it, _smell_ it… but all Seonghwa did was dart his tongue out along the sweat-salted skin, tasting. He closed his teeth over the area, blunt, but raked them across the vein like a sample of things to come.

“D-don’t…” Hongjoong gasped out, causing Seonghwa to pause in his ministrations, going still as the grave until he spoke again. “Don’t draw blood.”

“I won’t.” Seonghwa assured, moving his lips against him once more. He dragged his bottom teeth over the curve of Hongjoong’s neck, sucking little marks into the sensitive flesh, but never breaking skin. His canines were safely retracted, blunt enough that he could nip gently without making him bleed. His tongue ghosted over what little remnant of a scar was left at the dip of his shoulder, where the mad vampire had sunk in his claw. Where Seonghwa had fed from, the first time they met. Still, though he longed for the taste of it, he did not break skin.

Hongjoong tipped his head back as Seonghwa moved across his throat, sucking gingerly at his adam’s apple before laving his tongue over it. He slipped lower, running his tongue along the dip of his clavicle, nipping at the jut of it, sucking again until the skin purpled. Hongjoong shivered, letting out an involuntary little groan. Hearing that pulled a snarl out of Seonghwa, the vampire rutting his hips forward to press Hongjoong further into the wall and biting down hard into the corded muscles of the hunter’s neck.

It wasn’t hard enough to break the skin, but it was enough to tear a moan out of Hongjoong, which seemed to knock his senses back into him. He tipped his head back down, catching his breath before forcing out a single word.

“Stop.”

Seonghwa did, without hesitation, standing back at his full height and regarding the other curiously. There was hunger in his eyes, but not the kind Hongjoong was expecting.

“I should… leave.” Hongjoong said, breathless, but still far too casual to match his condition.

Seonghwa dropped his grip on the other’s arms, taking a step back. “Please drive safely.”

Hongjoong balked, letting out a strained scoff. “Really. You’d leave me like this?”

“Leave you like what?” Seonghwa asked so impassively that it was _almost_ believable as a genuine question.

Hongjoong tipped his head down, looking at the vampire from beneath his lashes, though there was nothing coquettish at all about his expression. “And what if I want to find out just what else you’re good at with that mouth?”

No sooner had the words left his lips had Seonghwa stepped forward and fallen to his knees, never breaking their eye contact. His expression remained impassive, the epitome of control.

Hongjoong stared for a long, silent moment, willing his heart to stop racing, to no avail. Finally, he cocked his head, raising an eyebrow. “What are you waiting for?”

“For it to no longer be a question.” Seonghwa answered, his tone infuriatingly even.

Hongjoong pressed his lips together, almost appearing irritated. He seemed resolved, however, lifting his chin up to look down at the vampire.

“Show me.”

Seonghwa’s patience seemed only a facade, then, when he divested the hunter of his pants and underwear with such haste that Hongjoong was left momentarily stunned, wondering how he was still standing, how he hadn’t simply been knocked off his feet. However, once the offending clothing was out of the way, Seonghwa’s pace seemed to grind to a crawl as he took the time to run his hands up Hongjoong’s legs, nosing against the vee of his hips as though he were in no hurry at all.

“When one has lived a thousand years… one picks up on many of pleasure’s various, _endless_ iterations.” Seonghwa murmured, running his tongue up the entire length of him before folding it back behind his lips. “I would gladly share them all with you.”

“ _Fuck._ ” The word slipped out unbidden, and Hongjoong bit his own lip to save himself further embarrassment.

Seonghwa didn’t seem to mind, however, looking pleased with himself as he began mouthing over Hongjoong’s cock, wrapping his right hand around the base of him while the other settled on his thigh, his thumb rubbing maddeningly slow circles into the tender flesh.

“We also have very little by way of reservations.” Seonghwa told him, giving him a smoldering look as he flicked his tongue out again, just a tease. “So please, be as loud as you’d like.”

Hongjoong would have liked to have been able to say that he scoffed at the notion, that he was the epitome of control, that he was not even all that into this entire situation and was merely indulging a curiosity, but the moment Seonghwa took him into his mouth, all semblance of that mentality flew out the window and well into outer space. There was something to what he had implied, that the experience begotten by a thousand years on this earth would make him a lover unlike Hongjoong had ever had, but he hadn’t really respected just what that meant until that moment.

Every movement, every variation of pressure, every bit of what he was doing was calculated, his heated gaze on Hongjoong’s face the entire time to gauge his reactions and change what he was doing accordingly. It was intuition to the millionth power, and Hongjoong felt a little helpless in the face of it. He felt _young_ , inexperienced… like a small, insignificant mortal in the presence of a higher power. That was probably a ridiculous notion, from something as simple as a _blow job_ , but Seonghwa’s _mouth_ , his _tongue_ , everything he was doing, it was like nothing else he’d ever even dreamed up.

Seonghwa eventually released his grip on Hongjoong’s cock, opting instead to take him down all the way to the hilt in one go, as though it were no great feat. He seemed entirely unperturbed as he forced him _even deeper_ , until he could not possibly take him any further, until his face was nestled as close to the space beneath Hongjoong’s navel as he could physically get. He still managed to move his tongue— _how_ was he still moving his tongue? Seonghwa swallowed around him and he saw stars, a broken groan tearing out of his throat at the feeling of it.

Hongjoong had belatedly realized two things: one, that the vast majority of vampires would not have a gag reflex, as they were incapable of choking… and two, that they did not have to worry about choking because they did not need to breathe.

When he looked down, Seonghwa was still watching him, as though the position and angle was not inherently uncomfortable, as though it were no strain at all, as though he could not possibly tear his gaze away even if that were the case. He swallowed again, and Hongjoong’s knees buckled, but Seonghwa’s grip simply slipped under them, lifting the other’s legs up onto his own shoulders. The vampire took the weight with ease, never even pulling off of him. Now the hunter was pinned between the wall and Seonghwa, all the control taken away from him. Somehow, he didn’t care.

Seonghwa’s fingertips trailed, feather-light down the length of the backs of the other’s thighs. He seemed to delight in the way Hongjoong jumped involuntarily, his hips jerking and legs twitching over his shoulders. He pulled nearly all the way off of him to tease his tongue along the tip of his cock, watching how he turned pink from the tips of his ears all the way down to his chest and utterly _reveling_ in it.

He worked his tongue there for a long moment, watching Hongjoong tremble and shiver, drinking in the glorious little broken sounds that were pouring out of him… and then, he pulled off entirely. His eyes still hadn’t left Hongjoong’s face, and they didn’t still as he took two of his own fingers into his mouth, pumping them in and out and running them along his tongue. Hongjoong watched him hungrily, realizing just what he was doing, what he was offering. When he pulled his fingers out of his mouth, they were dripping wet, a line of saliva still connecting them to his lips.

“Ask.” Seonghwa grunted before taking his cock back into his mouth, taking him all the way down again. He pressed the pads of those slick fingertips against his perineum but moved them no further, just massaging against the spot, maddeningly slow.

“Please… p- _please_ …” Hongjoong whined, his hands scrabbling across the wall desperately. He expected some jibe from Seonghwa about his steadily-improving manners, but when he met the other’s eyes, his gaze was only smoldering with need, watching the hunter hungrily as he fell apart beneath him.

Doing as he asked, Seonghwa pressed one spit-slick finger against his rim, easing it in just to the second knuckle, just far enough to expertly locate his prostate and rake the pad of his finger against it. Hongjoong let out a low, guttural groan, all but going limp against the wall, toes curling. He was close, _so fucking close_ , and all it took was for Seonghwa to pull nearly all the way off, whorling his tongue around the head of his cock while his finger worked inside him.

Hongjoong went eerily silent, just puffing out labored breaths for several long seconds before he finally broke, loosing an unbridled shout that certainly would have been heard throughout the house whether the other occupants were vampires or not. He hardly seemed to care, however, fingers digging uselessly into the wall.

“Ah… S- _Seonghwa-hyung!_ ”

Seonghwa growled around him, taking him all the way down again just to lick him clean before pulling off and swallowing eagerly. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had called him hyung, but Hongjoong had _never_ called him by his name. It was always ‘vampire’ or ‘monster’ or some similarly derogatory term.

Seonghwa let Hongjoong’s legs slide off his shoulders, guiding them to his waist as he stood, taking the hunter up the wall with him as though his weight was inconsequential. Hongjoong was still coming down, panting as he caught his breath, but Seonghwa leaned in regardless and kissed him until he was dizzy, until he was curling his small hands into the front of the vampire’s shirt for some kind of purchase.

“Fuck.” Hongjoong cursed, hardly a whisper against the other’s lips. “Leave it to a thousand-year-old vampire to fucking ruin me.”

Seonghwa chuckled, low and deep and sweetly amused. But Hongjoong wasn’t done, dropping his hand down between his legs to palm at the other through the fabric of his perfectly-pressed slacks, wanting to feel for himself just what kind of effect he’d had on him.

“Tell me something,” Hongjoong murmured, his grip tightening, “What’s it take to ruin someone like you?”

Seonghwa smirked, his eyes dark with promise. “If anyone could find out, it would most certainly be you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have nothing to say for myself so I’ll just go.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally have an idea of some semblance of a plot for this fic, but I’d rather write a bunch of really filthy smut first, so, here we are. To be honest, I really waffled on whether or not to split this chapter and decided in the end it was best if I did. So this fic will go on a little longer than I initially planned. There is plot coming, eventually.

_ “Tell me something… what’s it take to ruin someone like you?” _

_ “If anyone could find out, it would most certainly be you.” _

 

If someone had asked Hongjoong just when he had erred away from the side of caution and dived off the deep-end, he would have pointed to that very moment.

That was the moment that led to  _ this _ , led to him being draped over an antique settee in the common room of a vampire mansion while Seonghwa fucked him with absolute abandon from behind.

Hongjoong had since been divested of the rest of his clothes, but Seonghwa hadn’t removed a single stitch of clothing… just disappeared for a moment to retrieve some lube for them before he freed his cock from the confines of his slacks.

Hongjoong’s fingers curled over the gold-leafed wood accents along the back edge of the settee as he panted into the soft velvet. He had long since given up on trying to stifle the moans pouring out of him; Seonghwa had protested every time he covered his own mouth, or sunk his teeth into the furniture or even his arm. 

“I could have you finish a hundred times before I took my own pleasure.” Seonghwa told him. He wasn’t gloating, but there was nothing particularly humble about his tone, either. “How many times would you like to come?”

That was a loaded question, Hongjoong realized… but all he could manage in response was a drawn-out moan that broke on a particularly hard thrust. 

He’d already come once—down Seonghwa’s throat, the vampire having taken it almost gladly. It was unexpected, just how eager Seonghwa was for him… and yet, it wasn’t. Seonghwa was a predator. Hongjoong was still his prey, whether the vampire intended to harm him or not.

Except…

It was hard to feel like prey, though, when he was rolled over with such care, so they were once more face-to-face. Seonghwa’s hands roamed over him worshipfully, his reverent gaze tracking the beads of sweat that trailed down his neck and chest.

Seonghwa’s eyes may have lingered upon his throat… but only to watch the quickly-fading purple bruises he’d left there, his own blood working within Hongjoong to heal them away. He did not gaze upon his vulnerable neck as a predator might, his eyes darkened with the desire to latch his teeth there and taste of that blood which he found to be so irresistible.

No… Seonghwa only looked upon him in admiration—and perhaps pride—as Hongjoong gasped and moaned and writhed under his touch.

Hongjoong never answered Seonghwa, not after the second orgasm or the third, nor after the fourth when Seonghwa gave him a reprieve from his cock and fucked Hongjoong open with his tongue. It was all so so much,  _ too _ much, and yet somehow not nearly enough. He never wanted it to end, never wanted Seonghwa to stop touching him, to break that connection, to sever that thread of want between them. It felt  _ good  _ to be wanted.

Hongjoong had lost track of just how many times he had come, but eventually, he began begging Seonghwa to take his own pleasure. He wasn’t sure if it was to grant himself some kind of reprieve, or maybe just so that he could see Seonghwa be the one to fall apart for once… but he begged for it all the same.

Seonghwa obliged him of at least the former, burying himself to the hilt and going gloriously still with a low groan that was almost indistinguishable from the soft growls he’d been letting out all night. Hongjoong shivered, his cock twitching and offering what little it could, but he was spent. It was only thanks to the increased stamina from Seonghwa’s blood coursing through him that he could even manage anything at all.

Hongjoong mewled pathetically and brought his hands up to rest them flat against Seonghwa’s chest, somewhat irritated that he was still wearing all of his clothes and there wasn’t any indication of sweat upon them. It was a little eerie how his chest did not rise and fall heavily when he himself was heaving for air. It was somewhat disarming that Seonghwa’s heart was cold and still while Hongjoong’s hammered in his ribcage.

The vampire held himself up effortlessly over him, just watching him silently for a long moment, watching him come down. After what felt like an age, he finally pulled out, still remaining settled above him.

“You shouldn’t try to go so long again without my blood.” Seonghwa murmured, his fingertips tracing gently along the underside of Hongjoong’s jaw, his neck, his clavicle. “You cut it rather close this time.”

“Got caught up investigating a lead.” Hongjoong mumbled, eyes finding the far wall. “I’d say it won’t happen again, but… we’d both know I was lying.”

“Just… tread carefully, is all.” Seonghwa told him, his tone gentle moreso than chiding. “This is not something you can muscle your way through. Your body  _ will  _ give out on you, no matter your mental fortitude.”

“I know.” Hongjoong muttered, grimacing.

“If there are times… when you would wish for me to come to you, instead…” Seonghwa began, giving him a meaningful look. “I do not mind.”

“I’d really rather you… not.” Hongjoong grunted. Not come within spitting distance of his team, more than likely… that was unspoken. But Seonghwa heard it.

“Very well. At least give me your phone.” Seonghwa reasoned. Hongjoong made a face, but dug through his nearby clothes to grab his cell anyway. Seonghwa’s fingers were a blur over the keys as he saved his own number as well as the house phone, which was hardly ever utilized but he still had out of habit. “If you ever have need of anything, call me. No matter the hour, no matter the time of day or night. I will be there.”

Hongjoong squinted at him. “Really? You fuck me once and you’re already ride or die?”

The vampire rolled his eyes.

“I would have said the same even had you not already given yourself to me.” Seonghwa admonished. He set the phone aside, smirking devilishly as he leaned in to kiss and nip along the pale column of Hongjoong’s throat. “And it was hardly only  _ once _ .”

Hongjoong shivered, resting his hand at the back of Seonghwa’s head. He seemed to lack the strength or will to either fight or encourage him, letting out a grunt of what could’ve been protest or content; it was anyone’s guess.

Seonghwa pulled back, regarding him for a long moment.

“You seem fatigued.”

“You seem… not.” Hongjoong countered. “Did you even come, earlier?”

“Just the once.” Seonghwa replied, an indulgent smile playing at his lips. “It’s gotten late… perhaps you’d like to get some sleep? Or take a bath?”

Hongjoong bristled, sensing the challenge there. “I can keep going.”

Seonghwa chuckled, amused and utterly fond. “Oh I’m sure that you could. But you are liable to faint regardless. Why don’t you relax in the bath for a little while and I’ll bring you something to drink. Are you hungry as well?”

“No.” Hongjoong grunted almost petulantly.

“Mm… I did tell my coven I would keep you downstairs, but that was decidedly…  _ before _ .” Seonghwa’s tone was only mildly suggestive.

“They aren’t gonna maul me, are they?”

“Oh no, certainly not. I can sense they’re rather preoccupied with each other at the moment.”

Hongjoong blinked. “Ah. S’that a… common occurrence?”

“Quite. For all of us.” Seonghwa told him. “The bond of a coven is a bond like no other.”

There was a long pause before Hongjoong asked, “Thinking about joining them?”

“Perhaps.” Seonghwa answered, his expression unreadable as he watched for the other’s reaction.

For some reason, Hongjoong felt his mouth watering at the very thought. That was… interesting.

An indulgent smile spread slowly across Seonghwa’s face, and he held out his hand. “Shall we?”

Hongjoong’s lips pressed together into a thoughtful little twist before he finally slid his own into it.

“I did initially tell my coven that, were you to make for the stairs, I would tear you limb from limb.” Seonghwa mused aloud, his tone far too casual as he helped the other get dressed. They only bothered with his shirt and boxers, anything else rather pointless. “But, I suppose as long as I am the one escorting you…”

Hongjoong gave a dubious expression, wondering if he may have, as so often was his habit, bitten off far more than he could chew.

Seonghwa led him up the stairs, taking him into what he could only assume was one of the larger bathrooms; the one right next to his own room. He did not miss the way Seonghwa’s pupils shifted as they passed the double-doors; he was certain the vampire could smell them, practically taste the sex in the air. Hongjoong could only hear them—but barely—soft mewls and a sweet voice begging for something.

Hongjoong waited as Seonghwa filled the tub… it was a modern, massive thing with jets and curved shelves like seats beneath the water. He drizzled soaps and oils until the water foamed up, filling the room with a pleasant aroma Hongjoong couldn’t place.

Seonghwa helped him out of his clothes and into the tub, running a soft sponge reverently across his back and shoulders for several long moments. After a while, he placed a kiss at the crown of his head as he stood, wiping his hands dry on a small towel. He moved a larger one onto the rack next to the tub and hung a robe there as well.

“Stay in there as long as you’d like. If you need anything, call for me. And drink this.” Seonghwa handed him a cup of water, thick plastic so it would not shatter in the tub and harm him.

“Mm.” Hongjoong hummed, not agreeable but also not argumentative. He felt too comfortable to complain.

Seonghwa brushed a hand softly through Hongjoong’s hair before taking his leave of the room, closing the door gently behind him.

***

When Hongjoong’s first shout of Seonghwa’s name echoed through the house, all four of the vampires piled on the eldest’s bed had looked up.

“Was that—?”

“Holy shit he actually did it.” San interrupted before Wooyoung could even finish his sentence. He shot up, turning to Mingi. “You owe me  _ so much money _ !”

“You had a  _ bet _ ?” Yeosang balked, setting aside his tablet and trying to look disapproving.

“Sure did, and now I’m out a hundred thousand won.” Mingi grumbled, falling back onto the mattress with a sigh. “I can’t believe this. I figured for sure the hunter wouldn’t break.”

“Seonghwa could break anyone, given the time.” Yeosang murmured with a devious little smile, wagging one eyebrow. “That’s not a bet I would have taken, if I were you.”

“Maybe it’s because Hongjoong came to me kind of looking for absolution the other day, but I’m with San… this seemed inevitable. And I’ve only known him for a month or so.” Wooyoung said. He’d paused his game and set his Switch aside, resting his head on his hands.

“I knew he’d manage it eventually.” San preened. “There’s not a soul alive who could resist Seonghwa forever.”

“Please, all of you, continue coming up with more clever ways to call me an idiot.” Mingi grumbled.

“Aw, but you’re  _ our  _ idiot, and we love you.” San cooed, having to dodge when Mingi threw a pillow at him.

The silence that followed San’s laughter might have been comfortable, had it not been for Hongjoong’s sighs and moans carrying their way up the stairs to their sensitive vampire ears.

“Ugh! Seonghwa always fucks  _ forever _ . We are in it for the long haul if we plan to stay cooped up in here.” San whined, pouting. “And listening to all that isn’t going to help calm my mood.”

“Oh I know precisely what it’s doing to your mood.” Yeosang quipped, giving him a look.

San sighed and rolled over on the bed until he nudged against Wooyoung, who was lying on his stomach, propped up on his elbows. He looked up at the other expectantly, like he wanted something.

“Yes?”

“Wooyoungie… make out with me.”

The fledgling sputtered, lurching back a little. “W-what?”

“You, me, kissing. We should do that.” San clarified, far too casually. “I’m  _ bored _ and Seonghwa’s down there having all the fun…”

Wooyoung glanced over at Yeosang. “Um?”

“You don’t need to look to me for permission.” Yeosang told him, his voice gentle. “He’s asking you.”

“Aw, you’re so cute. Yeosang isn’t the jealous type. Bet he’d love to watch me ruin you.” San cooed, biting his lip around a smirk.

Yeosang’s face remained largely impassive, but there was a certain glint of something smoldering darkly in his bright eyes as he looked between the both of them. On the other side of the bed, Mingi perked up curiously.

Wooyoung rolled back until he was sitting up, shrinking in on himself a little. “I don’t… uh. I’ve never… with so many… people watching.”

“Mm, so you’re shy?” San asked, cocking his head.

“Not exactly… I don’t  _ mind  _ that they’re watching. It’s just…” Wooyoung frowned. Words seemed to be failing him.

“Is it a little too much to take in at once?” San tried. Wooyoung nodded. “Oh, that’s pretty normal. When I was newly-turned, some of my senses were overwhelming. Sometimes it helped to just, close my eyes to get rid of the sensory overload. I used to ask Seonghwa to blindfold me.”

“Blindfold you?” Wooyoung whispered. “Did it… help?”

“Absolutely.” San assured. “Yeosangie?”

“Mm.” Yeosang reached up and pulled the knot free of the choker around his neck. It was a length of lace ribbon three-fingers wide tied into a bow. He slid behind Wooyoung on the bed, holding it out with both hands. “We can try it, and if you want to stop or to take it off, just say something. All right?”

“Yeah.” Wooyoung agreed with a nod, closing his eyes.

Yeosang rested the lace ribbon across the bridge of his nose and eyes, knotting it tightly enough to hold in place but loosely enough that it wasn’t uncomfortable. Wooyoung could barely see through the lace; it was detailed enough that the thick embroidery obscured most of his vision. He let his eyes fall shut again, trying to keep himself from attempting to see through it regardless. That rather defeated the purpose.

“Is that all right?” Yeosang asked, his voice so so gentle as he laid his hands on Wooyoung’s biceps, only so that he knew he was still there.

“Mhm.” Wooyoung answered.

He felt other hands on him, then, thumbs resting over his clavicle… he assumed it must be San. When he spoke, he was certain it was. “I’m gonna kiss you now, is that okay?”

“Uh-huh.” Wooyoung murmured, nodding.

When San’s lips met his a millisecond later, it wasn’t nearly what he was expecting. It was soft, and sweet and  _ slow _ , like he was easing him into it. San always seemed to be the kind of person who was incredibly forward and blazing with energy, so it took him by surprise that his kiss wasn’t like that at all. It felt… courteous.  _ Considerate _ . 

Eventually, San’s lips moved lower, pressing sweet kisses along his jawline, down his neck. He opened his mouth to scrape his teeth along the curve where it met his shoulder, making his meaning known as he asked, “Can I?”

His voice was like molten gold. He knew San enjoyed partaking in feeding on vampire blood, for the high it afforded… and he also knew—thanks to Yeosang and Seonghwa—that his own would be especially potent as he was newly-turned. Wooyoung kind of delighted in knowing he could give San a type of high that no one else in the coven could. It made him feel… powerful.

“Yeah, f’course.” Wooyoung whispered, biting his own lip in anticipation.

“Of  _ course _ , you’re so  _ sweet _ Wooyoungie.” San cooed, pressing a kiss to the skin before sinking his teeth in.

Wooyoung let out a soft  _ “ah!” _ , but it was more in surprise than pain. It was just a pinch, really, but it felt  _ good _ , the way his teeth dug into the cords of muscle there. He only took a little, just a taste, pulling back and licking over the bite until the flesh knitted back together.

San groaned, eyelids fluttering. “Mm, that’s so good, Wooyoungie.”

The timbre of his voice had already changed, and he swallowed hard, licking his lips clean. San’s hands moved against his neck, and he moved in for another kiss.

The first kiss he had given Wooyoung was measured and languid.

Now, it wasn’t any of that.

San gripped Wooyoung’s neck  _ hard _ , pulling him in for a bruising kiss. Their teeth clashed, and he could taste the faintest remnants of his own blood on the other’s tongue. Not enough for it to impact his senses; just a faint, metallic tang. He sucked on San’s tongue and that made him trill happily, his hands moving lower, to the hem of his shirt.

Wooyoung shifted to accommodate his clothes being removed, and he felt Yeosang and San both move away for a moment, he assumed to remove their own. He felt the bed dip a little further back as well, and thought Mingi might have moved closer. He became more than a little distracted, however, when Yeosang returned behind him, sliding a lube-slicked finger between his legs with absolutely no preamble.

He jolted a little, pointlessly looking back toward the other, despite that he could not actually see him. Yeosang nuzzled against his cheek, his other hand petting soothingly over his flank.

“I’m sorry, love, did I startle you? I just wanted you so badly… want them to see how well you take me.”

Wooyoung whimpered, but nodded emphatically as Yeosang fingered him. Moments later, he groaned brokenly when Yeosang pressed his cock inside him, sliding home all at once.

He could vaguely hear San speaking to Mingi, but his mind was too focused on Yeosang to understand the words. He had a feeling they were discussing something similar, though, because as Yeosang pressed a kiss to his ear, he heard Mingi and San both growl in satisfaction in perfect unison.

San’s hands were on him, again, this time running up his thighs. He felt those palms brace on him, felt them shift forward hard, and he realized Mingi must be fucking San just as Yeosang was fucking him. The idea completely thrilled him, roiling in his gut like butterflies.

“God,  _ shit _ , fuck me like you  _ mean it! _ ” San hissed. “Want you to rearrange my fucking  _ guts _ .”

“Christ, is that how the kids are talking these days?” Mingi chided, shaking his head. “Filthy.”

“Don’t act like people didn’t say shit like that back when you were still human.” San bit back. “I distinctly recall the words  _ kidney-buster _ being used to describe your dick.”

“Stop ruining the mood.” Yeosang growled, grabbing San by his hair  _ hard  _ and shoving his face down until it was level with Wooyoung’s dick.

Despite the rough handling, San had no complaints, and hummed agreeably as he gripped Wooyoung’s hips and licked a stripe upward from base to tip before taking him entirely into his mouth.

“Oh f-fuck…” Wooyoung whimpered, reaching back to grab blindly at Yeosang’s thighs with both hands.

“The only real way to shut San up is to give him something else to occupy his mouth with.” Yeosang murmured against Wooyoung’s ear, his tone low and sweet like honey. “He’s gotten rather good at it, as a result.”

Wooyoung didn’t need to be told that. Whatever San was doing was already leaps and bounds more glorious than anything else he’d ever experienced from a human lover. He seemed to have no issues taking him down to the hilt, and whatever he was doing with his tongue was positively  _ sinful _ . Wooyoung didn’t know which way he wanted to buck his hips.

Yeosang continued rocking up into him slow and steady, and San seemed completely unperturbed by the movement forcing Wooyoung’s cock further down his throat. He just hummed and glanced up to watch the other fall apart under their ministrations. One of Wooyoung’s hands moved up to tangle into Yeosang’s hair, gripping perhaps a little to hard at the strands. Yeosang didn’t seem to mind, however, nibbling teasingly at his ear as his fingertips played along his hips and up his sides.

After a moment, Wooyoung felt another hand slide up the side of his neck, cupping his jaw… larger than any of the others. Long, slender fingers held him gently as unfamiliar, plush lips met his. He was certain by the scent of him that it must be Mingi. That and the fact that San and Yeosang’s mouths were already otherwise occupied.

Mingi was certainly tall enough to be able to lean entirely over San and still easily reach Wooyoung’s lips. He kissed him in a way that was unhurried, like he was sampling him, oh so carefully taking a taste for himself.

“Pretty.” Mingi murmured as he pulled back, stroking his thumb across the other’s bottom lip.

Wooyoung felt as much as he heard San whine around his cock, and then the sound of a sharp slap cut him off.

“So impatient.” Mingi chided, clearly talking to San. He rut his hips so hard that Wooyoung felt San struggle not to go sprawling entirely into his lap. “Why don’t you let Wooyoung set the pace?”

San hummed agreeably, grabbing the hand that Wooyoung had clutching to Yeosang’s thigh to push it into his own hair, encouraging him to grip hard. Wooyoung’s brain may have short-circuited briefly as his fingers tangled in the strands, his hips bucking involuntarily.

“Mm, you look so good like this.” Yeosang husked against the shell of Wooyoung’s ear, his trailing up along his chest to play over his nipples while Mingi leaned forward and pressed his plush lips against his jaw, his neck, his collarbone.

Intrinsically, he knew he didn’t  _ just _ mean him.

And Wooyoung… Wooyoung wanted to watch, too.

“S’too… S’too much, wanna… need to see you...” He whined, reaching up to try to pull the blindfold away.

“Easy, shh…” Yeosang soothed, easily tugging the ribbon down so that it hung limply around Wooyoung’s neck.

The fledgling opened his eyes, blinking for a moment as he took everything in. Yeosang’s hands on him, San’s fucked-out, sated expression, Mingi’s earnest gaze… it was all so much, too much, in the best way possible.

“Fuck, f- _ fuck-! _ ” Wooyoung keened, fingertips digging hard into Yeosang’s thighs.

“Are you going to come, love?” Yeosang cooed, causing him to whimper and nod almost manically. “Come for us, Wooyoung.”

He was powerless to do anything save obey.

The feeling crashed over him like a wave… building, cresting, then drowning him entirely. And just for a moment, for the briefest millisecond, it felt as though every one of his senses was  _ so  _ overwhelmed that they simply shut off, stopped working altogether.

Everything, for just a breath of a moment, became blessedly silent and still.

***

By the time Seonghwa opened the door to his bedroom, the rest of his coven had fallen quiet. They were all piled up together on the bed, not a single stitch of clothing between the four of them, limbs comfortably entangled. Just… sharing the same space, fingertips gently running along a shoulder, a side, the length of a spine. It was a beautiful sight, and Seonghwa found himself smiling.

“You were down there for a while.” Yeosang said, his look more suggestive than his tone. He gingerly disentangled himself to approach the other, keeping his voice low. “We heard you.”

“Mm, we may have indulged in a… handful of rounds.” Seonghwa admitted with a guilty smile.

“Just don’t forget… he’s human, Seonghwa. Being a familiar may help, but his physiology isn’t built for that.” Yeosang told him gently.

“I don’t think I’ve broken him just yet.” Seonghwa replied with a wink, his eyes tracking over the others as they stirred, blinking at him curiously while he and Yeosang conversed. “He’s relaxing in the bath now. That should help.”

“You still seem a little riled up.” Yeosang observed. “Did he not… do it for you?”

“Quite the opposite. But I think I  _ could _ break him if I kept going.” Seonghwa answered with a soft laugh.

“Well, I don’t think we’re all entirely worn out just yet. Let us help.” Yeosang offered, inclining his head toward the bed, toward the others.

Seonghwa regarded him for a brief moment. Several questions seemed to run through his mind… it was almost as though he and Yeosang were having a silent conversation. Finally, he nodded.

Yeosang leaned in and kissed gingerly across his jaw and down his neck and what was exposed of his clavicle. He still had all his clothes on, and Yeosang didn’t even bother divesting him of them. He just knelt in front of him, freeing his cock from his slacks before taking him into his mouth, eyes never leaving his.

Wooyoung must have been watching  _ too  _ obviously, because San slid up behind him, playfully nipping at his ear.

“That’ll lose its appeal in a little while.”

Wooyoung snorted doubtfully. “How come?”

“It’s always such a chore getting Seonghwa off.” San lamented, nosing against Wooyoung’s cheek. “Well… maybe not a  _ chore _ . More like a  _ challenge _ .”

“Why’s that?”

“Mm… he’s always stuck in his own head.” San answered, but the way he said it suggested it was more a guess than a statement. “I mean, think about it. You ever try to fall asleep, or get off, when you’ve got a lot on your mind? It’s either impossible, or it takes forever. Well, Seonghwa has about a thousand more years of shit on his mind than we do. It’s hard for him to let go of all that and focus on the moment.”

“Oh.” Wooyoung murmured thoughtfully. He could certainly understand that.

“Take last month for example. After the fight with Hongjoong, Seonghwa was  _ so  _ riled up. He invited Mingi and I to bed with him… think he might’ve fucked us three or four times each and he still didn’t come.” San explained, sighing over-dramatically.

“He had a  _ lot _ on his mind that night, though, to be fair.” Mingi added, dipping down to kiss and nip along the vee of Wooyoung’s hip. “But, they’ll still be at it for a while. In the meantime, why don’t you repay San for earlier with that pretty mouth of yours, hm?”

Wooyoung grunted agreeably, nodding and hastily turning around in San’s arms until he was facing him. He pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, looking a little regretful. “I can’t say it’ll be as good for you, though.”

San giggled, smirking at him. His dimples stood out starkly on his sly face. “Oh don’t worry, we’ll get you there.”

Wooyoung bit his own lip but smiled back before leaning down to run his tongue along the crown of San’s cock.

He felt both of San’s hands slide into his hair, but at the same time, he felt Mingi’s large hands find his hips.

“ _ Christ _ , you got a great ass, Wooyoung.” He said in a tone that was equal parts awed and turned on. He dipped down to run his tongue along the curve of it, slow and sampling. “S’this all right?”

“U-uh huh.” Wooyoung sputtered, his mouth still halfway around San’s dick. He was pretty sure the coven was trying to kill him, just in the best way possible.

Mingi hummed in acknowledgement, and gave no further warning before moving lower to fuck Wooyoung open with his tongue.

The fledgling jolted, letting out a muffled groan around San’s cock as he tried desperately to stay focused on pleasing him… without much success.

“So easily distracted, Wooyoungie. We’ll have to work on that.” San chided, though he sounded more amused than annoyed. He cradled Wooyoung’s head in his hands and rolled his hips, keeping his pace measured and his thrusts moderate just to get him used to the feeling. He couldn’t choke, not  _ really _ , but he still didn’t want to overwhelm him.

Wooyoung just gave a wrecked, guttural moan as he surrendered himself to the feeling, to what Mingi was doing with his tongue and to San fucking his mouth. It should have been overwhelming… and maybe it was, but it settled over him like a contented haze.

From their position nearby, both Seonghwa and Yeosang could easily see the three of them. They watched with rapt fondness, though there was no denying the undercurrent of heated want there, too, especially for the latter.

“He fits in perfectly, don’t you think, Yeosang?” Seonghwa asked, his voice so so soft as he ran his thumb across the other’s jawline.

Yeosang pulled nearly all the way off of him to hum in agreement.

“ _ Fuck _ .”

All eyes fell to the doorway where Hongjoong now stood, hair damp and all wrapped up in a borrowed robe.

Mingi reacted first, snarling all but ferally as he moved himself between the door and Wooyoung, shoving San behind him as well.

Yeosang, however, hadn’t even bothered to pull off of Seonghwa’s cock. He just locked eyes with Hongjoong and took it down to the hilt once more, his expression impassive.

“Easy, Mingi.” Seonghwa soothed, gesturing calmingly with one hand while the other petted sweetly through Yeosang’s hair. “Hongjoong-ah, you should have called for me.”

“You seem busy.” Hongjoong commented, too casual. He made his way to sit in a nearby settee, crossing one leg over the other. Mingi actually  _ growled  _ at his audacity.

“Calm down, Mingi… he’s totally fucked out and wearing a bathrobe.” San deadpanned. “What’s he gonna do, kill us with his bare hands? He’s probably dehydrated enough to faint.”

Mingi only marginally calmed, still sneering.

“Don’t stop on my account.” Hongjoong said, waving a hand dismissively.

Seonghwa glanced at Mingi, whose fiery gaze had not strayed from Hongjoong. “You know that I would never allow harm to come to any of you, Mingi. Trust that.”

He still didn’t respond, continuing to watch Hongjoong as he picked at a stray thread on the robe, acting like he was bored and not even paying them any mind.

“Come on, Mingi… let him see what he’s missing out on.” San cooed, nuzzling his nose against the other’s neck. He gave Wooyoung a look, so the fledgling leaned in close as well.

“It’s okay, Mingi. He won’t hurt us.” He assured, bringing a hand up to rest on the other’s slim waist. “Just… don’t even look at him. Look at us.”

Mingi finally tore his gaze away from Hongjoong, eyes locking with Wooyoung. He leaned forward and cradled the side of the fledgling’s neck gingerly, his grip so so gentle. “Just worry for you, is all. He tried to kill you.”

“I know. I was there.” Wooyoung teased, huffing a laugh. “And you weren’t. You just heard it from Seonghwa. So, trust me on this, okay? If I thought I was in any danger, I’d be the first to get behind you.”

“Good. You can, by the way. Get behind me. I’ll protect you.” Mingi assured, pressing it like a promise against his lips as he kissed him once more.

“Don’t let him make you think he’s some kind of badass. He’s a big baby.” San told him, smirking.

“Don’t disrespect him so much, San.” Seonghwa chided in such a stern, undistracted tone that it was as though Yeosang was not on his knees in front of him all but gagging on his dick. “You know well enough that Mingi defected from forced conscription by Japan as a human. He was drafted to fight for the imperialists and chose, at great personal risk, to fight alongside the Allies. I would classify that as…  _ badass _ .”

“Wow, really?” Wooyoung asked against Mingi’s lips, his expression full of wonder as he looked him in the eye.

Mingi nodded. “Korea was occupied by Japan at the time, so we got dragged into fighting their war. I sure as hell wasn’t gonna fight on the same side as those rotten Nazi bastards.”

“That’s  _ definitely  _ badass.” Wooyoung told him with a sweet smile.

“Why am I getting a history lesson when I should be getting sucked off or fucked?” San grumbled.

“Maybe I’d rather fuck someone who appreciates that I am, in fact, a badass.” Mingi quipped, scooping Wooyoung up and pulling him into his lap. “How would you like that, doll?”

Wooyoung swallowed, nodding. For some reason, the sweet nickname made him shiver. He couldn’t help but shiver  _ again  _ when Mingi slicked up his own cock with no further preamble, then pressed two lube-soaked fingers inside him to ensure he could take him.

San balked. “Wait. I didn’t mean it!”

“Mm, it’s a little too late now.” Mingi drawled, tossing San a wicked grin over Wooyoung’s shoulder as he gently eased him down onto his cock. Mingi was  _ huge _ , bigger than any of them. and Wooyoung couldn’t help but let out a stream of breathless staccato moans as he took him entirely.

Hongjoong had largely kept quiet off in his little corner, but none of them missed the way he bit his lip with a sharp inhale as he watched Wooyoung sink down onto Mingi’s cock. When he threw his head back on a punched-out little groan, the line of his neck and spine were positively obscene. It was no wonder Hongjoong couldn’t help but stare with rapt attention.

Less than a meter away on the same bed, San gave a needy whine, squirming as he watched everyone but him enjoying themselves. Well, everyone except him and Hongjoong, but the hunter had  _ clearly _ already had more than his fair share of pleasure, obviously appreciative to be merely a bystander, then.

It wasn’t long after, though, that Yeosang pulled off of Seonghwa, standing up from his knelt position quickly. He brushed a palm lovingly across Seonghwa’s jaw before he turned and crossed to the bed, only to pin San down onto it and attack his neck with gentle bites, rutting up against his thigh.

“So needy, as always.” He chided against his throat, his voice deeper than usual, entirely fucked-out from taking Seonghwa so adamantly. “Go put that bratty mouth of yours to use on Seonghwa and maybe if you get him off, one of us will fuck you after.”

San whined petulantly. “Seonghwa won’t come unless he wants to. You know that.”

“Then you’d better try  _ very  _ hard.” Yeosang told him, sitting back and slapping his flank. “Go on.”

San huffed but scrambled off the bed, making his way over to kneel in front of Seonghwa. He wasted no time before taking his cock into his mouth, already wet and shining with spit. Seonghwa grinned indulgently at him, petting softly across his cheek with one hand.

Yeosang, in the meantime, was watching with rapt attention as Wooyoung rode Mingi. They’d fallen much quieter, the two of them… but only because Wooyoung had thrown his arms around Mingi’s neck and leaned in to kiss him, their tongues dancing together playfully.

“Look at you…” Yeosang murmured, trailing his hand up Wooyoung’s spine, then running the other through Mingi’s hair. He caught his eyes, then glanced back meaningfully. “May I?”

Mingi nodded, and Yeosang shifted behind him. After a moment, he laid his palm against the small of Mingi’s back and pushed, forcing him to press Wooyoung into the bed and continue fucking him that way. Wooyoung didn’t seem to mind, in fact, he seemed to appreciate the erratic kick of Mingi’s hips when Yeosang grabbed the lube and started fingering him.

“I’d better not feel you break stride, Mingi.” Yeosang intoned as he slicked up his cock and pressed inside him. He could barely see Wooyoung past those broad shoulders of his, his sweet face contorted in ecstasy. “Wooyoung deserves to be fucked well, too, hm? Don’t stop.”

“Won’t.” Mingi grunted, but Wooyoung could see the wrecked look on his face. He rolled his hips down in time with Yeosang thrusting into Mingi, trying to help him keep an even pace. It worked for a little while. He let his hands wander, fingers ghosting over the other’s toned abdomen, his thumbs teasing over his nipples. Mingi was trembling under every touch, every thrust, and after a while, it was clearly becoming too much.

Mingi’s hands eventually moved up, latching to Wooyoung’s wrists and pinning them above his head. He finally kicked his hips of his own accord, falling in step with Yeosang’s movements. It was like they were  _ both _ fucking Wooyoung and… huh. That was something.

“Ah… f-fuck, nnh—” Mingi huffed, stringing together some garbled version of both their names. He buried his face against Wooyoung’s neck, teeth worrying gently at the skin.

“If it’s too much, it’s all right to come, Mingi.” Yeosang cooed, digging his fingers harder into his hips and punctuating every other word with a hard thrust. “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure Wooyoung comes.”

That was all the permission he needed. Mingi groaned against Wooyoung’s neck, holding fast to his wrists as he thrust two, three more times, coming hard and shuddering above him.

Somehow it felt filthier knowing he was filled with the both of them than it had been to have his skin covered and sticky with come.

Yeosang pulled out of him, remaining perched at the side of the bed for a moment. It was fairly clear he hadn’t come, and neither had Wooyoung.

Next to them, San pulled off of Seonghwa with a lewd pop, standing. “Okay Mingi, your turn.”

Mingi just grunted, pulling out and rolling off onto his back. “Give me a minute.”

“What kind of vampire are you? Worn out after two rounds?” San scoffed.

“I like sleep.” Mingi grumbled, closing his eyes for a moment.

“It’s okay, I got it.” Wooyoung piped up, rolling off the bed. He was still pretty keyed up, as he hadn’t come since much earlier, and he’d never had the privilege of being with Seonghwa. 

He lost all his nerve when he saw Seonghwa just standing there, regarding them with an open and earnest gaze. Why did it feel so different with him? He hadn’t been with him yet, sure, but he hadn’t been with San or Mingi until today either. So why was he so terrified?

He steeled himself, took another step closer and made to kneel.

“Ah-ah,” Seonghwa tutted, giving him a look. “None of that for you just yet, sweet boy. You don’t go on your knees for me until we have been properly acquainted.”

Wooyoung halted obediently, but stood stock still and just blinked at him, not knowing what that meant.

Seonghwa grinned indulgently, looping his fingers into the lace ribbon still dangling from Wooyoung’s neck and tugging him closer by it. He let it go only to cradle Wooyoung’s face in his hands and kiss him.

Wooyoung’s hands automatically fisted into the front of Seonghwa’s shirt as he kissed him back, letting out a soft sound that got caught up in his throat. 

Something about being with Seonghwa was so different from how it was with the others. He was their patriarch… the eldest by a large margin—ancient, truly—and it felt good to be the focus of his full attention, if only for a moment.

After what felt like an eternity, Seonghwa pulled back, staring at him with that intense gaze of his. Wooyoung chewed on his lip nervously, only for Seonghwa to use the thumb on his chin to pull it out from between his teeth.

“Tell me, sweet boy… how is it that you would know me?” He asked in a voice like liquid metal.

Wooyoung swallowed. “Would you… would you fuck me?”

“If that is what you wanted.” Seonghwa told him succinctly.

“And what do  _ you  _ want?” Wooyoung tried.

Seonghwa tilted his head ever so slightly, smiling fondly. “I love each of you so very much. I would be happy to give or receive anything from you.”

Wooyoung felt his heart lurch, even though it sat still and cold in his chest.

“Yeah, that’s… that’s what I want.” He reaffirmed with a nod, swallowing again.

“All right.” Seonghwa replied with an indulgent smile, leaning in to give him a sweet, chaste kiss.

Wooyoung thought he might lead him over to the bed, which they were a mere meter from… and perhaps, if he was lucky, Seonghwa could be convinced to remove his clothes. But no… Seonghwa just scooped Wooyoung up into his arms, wrapping the fledgling’s legs around his waist. Wooyoung caught his bearings enough to brace his arms on Seonghwa’s shoulders, just as Seonghwa’s hand came up to cradle his face.

Wait. Was Seonghwa holding him up with just one arm?

He was, he realized, as Seonghwa gripped him at the curve of his ass, his index and ring fingers keeping him spread while he used his middle finger to guide his cock into place.

Wooyoung felt dizzy, despite that it shouldn’t be possible, as Seonghwa let his weight drop just a little, settling him right onto his cock. He was a mess of lube and come and spit, so it wasn’t as though they needed more of it. He’d already been fucked by Yeosang and Mingi both… so he took Seonghwa as easily as anything, like he was  _ born  _ to it.

“Like this, sweet boy?” Seonghwa asked in a breathless husk that had Wooyoung nodding and whimpering. When Seonghwa moved his hips, he whimpered again.

It shouldn’t have been possible,  _ wouldn’t  _ have been with anything less than ancient vampire strength… but Seonghwa made it seem effortless.

Hongjoong felt his stomach swoop as he watched. Just hours ago, that had been him… clinging desperately to Seonghwa’s shoulders as he held him up and fucked him against the wall, and then against nothing at all. It had made him feel small, stripped of all control… but in good hands. And if he was even half as attractive as Wooyoung, well… at least he could admit it made a glorious picture.

San whined as he watched, nudging at Mingi, who was spread out on the bed lazily on his back, head propped up on one arm so he could see them as well.

“What?” Mingi goaded, knowing damn well what San wanted.

“Don’t you ‘what’ me.”

Mingi sighed. “My dick’s checked out, baby. Try again in like fifteen minutes.”

“Your fingers aren’t broken, are they?” San bit back huffily.

Mingi snorted. “If that’s what you want. Usually you whine if I don’t… what was it you said earlier?  _ Rearrange your guts _ ?”

“I swear to fuck if you don’t—”

San didn’t get to finish because Mingi shoved two fingers into his mouth as he sat up, pushing San onto his back.

“Such a brat. Wouldn’t kill you to ask nicely every so often, you know.” Mingi chided, but it wasn’t like he wouldn’t give him what he wanted regardless.

Yeosang’s attention was divided by their squabbling, but his gaze soon fell back onto Wooyoung and Seonghwa—and, to a lesser extent, Hongjoong, whom he could see behind them still watching with rapt attention. The fledgling was squirming in the eldest’s hold, his toes curling and fingers clawing at the air like he didn’t know what to do with himself. What could he do, really, when he was entirely at Seonghwa’s mercy?

Seonghwa was a benevolent god, though, and read each of Wooyoung’s sounds, his movements, every minute shift… and adjusted accordingly. Seonghwa was a lover like no other in that he could know, intrinsically, exactly what it was that another person needed in that moment, and execute it with stunning efficiency.

So when Seonghwa locked eyes with him over Wooyoung’s shoulder and gave him a  _ look _ , conveying a meaning only Yeosang could have possibly read, he stood and crossed the short distance to stand behind his fledgling.

The moment his chest made contact with Wooyoung’s back, the younger keened, reaching one arm back to hold his hip.

“Yeo-Yeosangie?” It was only half a question. He  _ knew _ ; he could see from his vantage point that Mingi was quite busy on the bed, three fingers deep in San while San writhed and cooed under him. Hongjoong was safely tucked against the settee. It could not have been anyone else.

“I’m here, love.” Yeosang murmured in answer anyway, pressing a gentle kiss to his neck.

“Such a sweet boy. He likes best when you’re close to him like this.” Seonghwa said, kissing Wooyoung’s forehead.

“Mm… but what use do you have for me when you’re taking Seonghwa  _ so  _ well?” Yeosang teased, earning him a soft whimper. But Seonghwa looked at him again, sharing in one of their silent conversations once more.

Yeosang realized, then. Wooyoung wouldn’t ask himself. Seonghwa knew that.

He ran his fingertips up Wooyoung’s sides, delighting in the way he squirmed. “Would you like it if we both had you like this?”

Wooyoung let out nothing short of a whine, shivering at the implication.

“Do you think you could take the  _ both _ of us?” Yeosang asked, more direct.

Wooyoung nodded emphatically. “Yeah—yes, I wanna,  _ please _ …”

Yeosang pressed another kiss under his ear. “All right, easy, love.”

He snapped his fingers and Mingi, with his long limbs, reached over on the bed and grabbed the lube, tossing it to him without breaking stride in his own ministrations upon San. Yeosang caught it with ease, drizzling it all along his fingers and cock.

“You’ll tell us if it’s too much, right?” Yeosang murmured, pressing just one finger into him alongside Seonghwa’s cock.

Wooyoung mewled, kicking his legs a little. “S’not too much, I can take it, I can…”

“That isn’t what I asked.” Yeosang admonished fondly, shaking his head as he worked at gently stretching him until he could take another finger. 

Seonghwa had gone still, just holding Wooyoung in place and nibbling sweetly at his neck and jaw. “Don’t worry, he knows what he can take. Don’t you, sweet boy?”

Wooyoung keened at that, nodding manically. “I do, I can, I promise.”

At least, he had confidence in his new vampiric physiology. It wasn’t as though he’d ever tried this when he was still  _ human _ . He’d never been so adventurous, or so trusting of his lovers.

But… he trusted everyone in this room. Even Hongjoong, despite the doubts some of the others might have had about him.

Yeosang made sure he was able to take three fingers with ease before he even attempted sliding in alongside Seonghwa. When he finally did, however, the noise Wooyoung let out was  _ inhuman _ . Even Seonghwa groaned long and low, a satisfied sound that rumbled in his chest.

“That’s it.” Seonghwa encouraged, looking into his eyes as Wooyoung rested his forehead against his own.

“Oh, good  _ boy… _ ” Yeosang hissed, and Wooyoung found himself preening under the praise.

He didn’t need to breathe but he felt breathless, felt like he should be heaving for air, felt lightheaded as Seonghwa and Yeosang both moved, falling into a tandem rhythm that was coordinated simply by a century’s worth of time spent together.

Wooyoung threw his head back, resting it on Yeosang’s shoulder. They all heard Hongjoong curse quietly from his corner, and even San was whining as he watched, claiming it had been too long since  _ he’d _ been allowed to have that kind of fun. Mingi still had his eyes on them as he took San’s cock into his mouth, still fingering him in steady strokes that matched Seonghwa and Yeosang’s movements. San went rigid for several solid seconds before shaking apart and coming hard, never looking away from the trio next to them.

Wooyoung hardly heard him. He was too wrapped up, too consumed by Seonghwa and Yeosang. It was so much, too much, but it was  _ everything _ , and fuck if he somehow didn’t want  _ more _ , wanted it to last forever.

“Easy, sweet boy. You’re doing  _ so well _ .” Seonghwa cooed, kissing a line up Wooyoung’s sternum, along his neck, until he reached his shoulder. Yeosang leaned forward and captured his lips, the two of them kissing heatedly while Wooyoung bucked between them, whimpering.

Wooyoung didn’t last much longer. It was honestly a miracle he’d lasted as long as he had. Now, though, he could feel sparks of pleasure racing along his nerves, like every part of him was alight with it. It was probably only thanks to how overwhelming it was that he hadn’t come already.

Seonghwa pulled away from Yeosang, nosing under Wooyoung’s jaw and encouraging him to let the man behind him take more of his weight, let him relax into his hold.

“That’s it.” He purred, kicking hips a little harder, just the way he knew he needed. “Come for us, Wooyoung.”

“Come on.” Yeosang rumbled against his ear, and that was it.

Wooyoung let out a visceral, high-pitched scream of pleasure that rocked the both of them to the core, tightening around them as he shook in their hold and came hard.

“Oh fuck—” Yeosang hissed, finding it impossible not to come right then with him, his orgasm slamming through him like a freight train.

Seonghwa was still rocking his own hips sure and steady, kissing Yeosang filthily before licking into Wooyoung’s mouth. Wooyoung, who deliriously fisted a hand into Seonghwa’s shirt, caught his gaze with his own fluttering eyes and whispered, “Y-you too, Seonghwa… come for us.”

Seonghwa wouldn’t dream of denying him.

Wooyoung was still trembling when Seonghwa pulled out, allowing Yeosang to bring him to the bed. The two of them collapsed onto the mattress and were quickly accosted by Mingi and San, who slotted up against them regardless of the absolute mess between them all.

It was  _ infuriating _ , and yet, somehow entirely expected, that Seonghwa simply tucked himself back into his pants and went to go join Hongjoong, sitting next to him on the settee.

There was a beat of silence before Hongjoong cleared his throat—coughed, really—and Seonghwa glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Well?”

“Is this what you vampires do all night for all your hundreds of years? Drink blood and fuck each other?”

“For the most part.” Seonghwa replied with a cheeky grin. “It’s a rather glorious eternity, when you think about it.”

Hongjoong had to admit, begrudgingly—and only to himself—that it didn’t seem all that bad.

***

Hongjoong was certain he was in for it from his team when he got back to base. Sure enough, he’d barely even closed the door behind him when Jongho piped up with a cheeky smirk.

“You were gone a while.”

Hongjoong rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well, Seonghwa insisted it was too late to drive all the way back here so I hung out with the bloodsuckers all night and after the sun rose I needed at least a nap before heading back.”

Yunho’s and Jongho’s eyebrows went to their hairlines, the latter speaking. “ _ Seonghwa _ , huh?”

“I do think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you call Seonghwa-ssi by his name.” Yunho added.

Hongjoong huffed, flushing to the tips of his ears. “Oh lay off. I live off the guy’s blood, I was gonna have to use his name eventually.”

“Uh huh.” Jongho replied in a dubious tone. After a long pause, he continued, “So… you been getting in on some vampire orgies, hyung?”

“I’m not even dignifying that question with a response.”

“What! I heard it’s common in covens, and familiars are often part of the action.” Jongho reasoned.

“C’mon, Jongie… don’t ask him that.” Yunho chided. “Even if he  _ was _ , it’s not like he would tell us.”

“I have a feeling hyung would want to know if  _ I  _ was fucking a half-dozen vampires…” Jongho reasoned.

“There’s only five of them, first of all—no, that is  _ not _ an admission, so get your head out of the gutter—” He pointed accusingly at Jongho when his mouth all but twitched, “And secondly, you’re a greenhorn. Your judgement isn’t half as good as mine yet, so yeah, I’d want to keep tabs on a decision like that.”

“That’s probably the most flawed logic I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth, hyung.” Yunho said. “And that’s saying a lot because you’ve had some pretty exceptionally ridiculous ideas while on hunts.”

“Oh god, if that isn’t the truth.” Jongho agreed. “Remember that one time he suggested sneaking into a coven’s  _ masquerade ball _ , like as if they wouldn’t smell us the moment we walked in? Like as if our beating hearts weren’t a dead fucking giveaway?”

“Hey! It fucking  _ worked _ !” Hongjoong protested.

Jongho balked. “No it didn’t! That one hunter—what the fuck was his name? Maddox! Yeah! Maddox had to rescue your sorry ass.”

“Hey, fuck off, that was  _ my  _ sanction.” Hongjoong growled. “I saw it through.”

“You nearly died. Not to mention the time Eden had to bail you out of that nightclub fiasco.” Yunho piped up.

“Hey, he was there but I got the job done!” Hongjoong snapped.

“Because an actual hunting  _ legend _ saved your ass.” Jongho said. “The guy used to hunt vampires since back before people actually even believed in them. He was one of the ones who knew before it went public twenty years ago. Guy’s a  _ god _ , and he had to save you from your own stupidity.”

“I like to think of it less like stupidity and more like… mad genius.” Hongjoong argued.

“Wow, humble as ever.” Jongho quipped.

“I mean, he  _ is _ one of the best in the business.” Yunho reasoned, trying to sound neutral but failing miserably. “That’s why you wanted to be his protegé, remember?”

“Well, yeah, that and because Eden told me to fuck off and come back in fifteen years.” Jongho admitted.

Hongjoong balked. “ _ What _ ?! I wasn’t your first choice? What ever happened to ‘it can’t be anyone else, no one knows this business like you!’ Huh? Was that all a lie?”

“...no.” Jongho said carefully. “It couldn’t be anyone else because, like I said, Eden blew me off.”

“Wow. The betrayal.” Hongjoong replied flatly, shaking his head. “This is why you broke your leg. Karma was balancing the scales.”

Jongho huffed. “I broke my  _ leg  _ because  _ you _ had the  _ genius _ idea to track a vampire target up on the  _ rooftops _ and when confronted he, predictably, threw me the fuck off the side of the building you absolute—”

“Okay, okay, don’t fight.” Yunho butted in with a quelling gesture. “We all know Jongho is just riled up because he’s been stuck here with me for weeks. And Hongjoong-hyung is still on edge over this whole  _ familiar _ thing.”

“Honestly, I’m over it.” Hongjoong admitted. “Really what’s bothering me are these fucking disappearances. They’ve been on my mind since my investigation turned up nothing. You’ve got nothing new for me on those?”

Yunho frowned. “Sadly not. More people have been going missing but there’s nothing  _ technically  _ linking them other than the circumstances… or lack thereof, really. There’s no discernible signature. No bodies have turned up. The police don’t even seem all that focused on it because it’s been dead end after dead end with their investigations.”

“Sounds like I need to do a stakeout.” Hongjoong grumbled.

“It won’t work. Hunters and police alike have all tried. This vampire is smart; they will know if you’re watching.” Yunho told him. “If it’s even a vampire at all. It could just be a really clever serial killer of the human variety.”

“Could be.” Hongjoong muttered darkly. “All an evil vampire is… is a fucked up human with a few physiological perks.”

Jongho and Yunho both looked at him, then, shocked to hear him say it. They didn’t say anything, but they did share a look before the former cleared his throat.

“Don’t worry, hyung. I’ve never known a target to elude you for long. You’ll figure it out.”

“Hope so.” Hongjoong grunted, glancing out the window. “Or else this whole city might be bleeding out right underneath our noses, and we won’t be able to stop it until it’s too late.”

The possibility was a terrifying one, but too near the reality of things to deny.

Something had to be done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day, I will write something that is the exact length I set out to write. But that day isn’t today, folks. I lost a lot of plot when I cut the chapter in half so you’ll just have to wait for that, I guess.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s that plot I promised. A smidge of it, anyway, but it’s buried under another avalanche of smut. I make no apologies.

Wooyoung wasn’t sure what he had expected after Hongjoong left, but somehow, he couldn’t say he was exactly  _ surprised _ how things turned out.

Everything seemed to just… go back to normal. Mingi and San may have been a little less reserved around him, he thought—offering him a gentle touch or a sweet kiss at random here or there, or openly fucking each other in less and less private locations around the mansion—but largely, things remained the same. He found that he still spent most of his time with Yeosang, even if it was only to lay across his chest while the other was reading or making notes in a journal. 

“Tell me something.” Wooyoung said out of nowhere one evening while Yeosang was reading over his shoulder, absently drawing patterns into the small of his back.

“Hmm… you might be the most beautiful person I’ve ever laid eyes on.” Yeosang replied after a pause for thought.

Wooyoung huffed, embarrassed, and swatted at the other’s chest. “I didn’t mean tell me something  _ random _ . It was a segue.”

Yeosang chuckled, eyes crinkling a little when he smiled. “Be more specific, then, love.”

“We spend a lot of time together.” Wooyoung continued, tone leading.

“We do.”

“Before I came along… did you spend a lot of time with Seonghwa? Because it seems like Mingi and San are always together, but Seonghwa keeps to himself.”

“Ah. Bit of a heavy subject.” Yeosang admitted, sitting up a little straighter and setting his book aside to wrap his arms around Wooyoung’s waist. “When Seonghwa first turned me, we spent a lot of time together. It was just the two of us, after all. But I do believe it was mostly for my benefit. I was… completely infatuated with him. I will always love him… I love  _ all  _ of you, in various ways, but things were new and different back then.”

“Sounds like things changed.” Wooyoung said softly.

“They did, as things are apt to do.” Yeosang agreed. “It’s different now, but Seonghwa has always been…”

“Distant?” Wooyoung tried.

Yeosang nodded. “I knew him when I was still a human. He cared for me before he ever turned me. But even back then, I felt that Seonghwa wasn’t as connected to the here and now, to others, as everyone around him. I always wondered if a little bit of him got chipped away with each passing year, like a part of him belonged to the ages. It was hard for him to be wholly in the present when he had lived through so much. There were times when he would keep to himself, unmoving, just to  _ think, _ and days would slip by him as though he hadn’t noticed. He was attentive with Mingi, and then with San, when they were newly-turned. But I was happy to be their comfort when he could not, and they took well to each other, so it wasn’t needed. He kept to himself more and more.”

Wooyoung frowned. “And what about you?”

“I grew used to the solitude. It never felt  _ lonely _ , because San and Mingi were there with open arms. And if ever I asked, Seonghwa would receive me. But it became harder and harder to ask when I knew that his heart wasn’t really in it. Well, it was more that he wasn’t all in the present moment.” Yeosang explained. “As his… pseudo-second-in-command, I understand some of the burdens Seonghwa experiences as the leader of this coven. But something I don’t think any of us—any _ one _ , really—could ever understand, is the burden of living a dozen lifetimes in solitude. More than that, having been alone in the truth of his existence for so long, believing that he may have been the only of his kind, believing he was a monster.”

Wooyoung was at a loss for what to say, so he just murmured, “I… see.”

“This seems like it was all a very roundabout way of asking me if your presence irritates me, or if perhaps you are stealing me away from Seonghwa.” Yeosang drawled, poking Wooyoung’s nose with a finger. “But I adore your company. I adore  _ you _ . Whether you prefer when we simply enjoy each other in silence, or if you would like me to fuck you on any available surface in this house… I am content to relax with you, or we can put San and Mingi to shame with how loud I’ll make you scream.”

Wooyoung choked and covered his mouth, scandalized. Had the capability of blushing, he would have flushed red to the tips of his ears.

Yeosang laughed, nudging Wooyoung’s hands away with his nose before planting a chaste kiss on his lips. “Whatever it is you would like, it doesn’t matter to me. Every moment I spend with you is a beautiful one.”

Wooyoung smiled, biting his lip thoughtfully. It was a long moment before he spoke. “I know you said you never felt  _ lonely _ , but… now that I’m here, I’ll make sure you never feel like you’re alone ever again, okay? If you… need time alone, you know, you can tell me, and that’s fine. But otherwise I’m just gonna torture you with my presence.”

“Wooyoung, love… I have had more than a century’s worth of  _ alone time _ .” Yeosang responded with an amused grin, cradling the other’s face and running his thumbs over the curves of his cheeks. “I look forward to your idea of torture.”

“You two are gross.” San said flatly from the doorway, crossing his arms. “Sorry to interrupt your gooey moment, but one of your familiars is here, Yeosang.”

“Oh, all right. I’ll meet them downstairs.” Yeosang replied. He leaned in to kiss Wooyoung softly before extricating himself from underneath him.

Wooyoung wasn’t sure he was meant to follow, so he just smiled and watched him go. He didn’t realize San was still standing there for at least a minute.

“You’re so cute.” He teased, tone condescending. “He won’t be long, but if you’re not nestled  _ too _ far up his ass, we could play Smash or something.”

Wooyoung rolled his eyes. “I’d love to obliterate you again, sure.”

“I’ve gotten better, you punk. I’ve been practicing. I’ll make you eat those words.” San hissed, glaring after the other as they headed for the arcade room.

“I look forward to seeing you try.” Wooyoung goaded, winking at him.

They ended up roping Mingi into playing, too, because he was always happy to oblige them. It, predictably, ended with Wooyoung slaughtering the both of them. When he had the gall to suggest that San stick to single-player RPGs, Mingi had to actually stand between the two of them and keep San at arm’s length so he wouldn’t maul Wooyoung. He wasn’t sure he’d  _ actually _ hurt him, but he might give him a hell of a noogie or something.

Insisting that they calm down, he suggested they head down to the common room to cool off and see what the others were up to. Yeosang’s familiar was apparently long gone, but he and Seonghwa were speaking about something. Judging by the looks on their faces, it wasn’t a particularly pleasant subject, but when the three of them entered the room, Seonghwa and Yeosang both offered them kind smiles.

“I am sensing some hostility between you.” Seonghwa commented, giving them a sly look.

“San is just salty he still can’t—”

“We aren’t talking about it.” Mingi cut Wooyoung off, shoving the both of them into the room. “Now go be civil with each other.”

Yeosang let out a peal of laughter. “San’s always been competitive. You’ve just learned how to push his buttons, I suppose.”

When he held out his arms, beckoning, Wooyoung went to him, flopping onto his chest where he sat on the couch. Mingi plopped down at the center, San begrudgingly joining him without saying anything, though he clearly wanted to.

“That’s okay,he knows how to push my buttons, too.” Wooyoung teased, winking at him from Yeosang’s arms. San just smirked, wagging an eyebrow.

They were sitting together for a long while in companionable silence when Seonghwa suddenly sat up. There had been something he had heard, something so faint that the others probably wouldn’t have even noticed themselves. It was a sound on the very periphery of their hearing… something they likely would not have been concerned with at all had they not had their attention drawn to it.

“If you’ll excuse me… I need to tend to something. I expect I won’t be long.” Seonghwa said and, just like that, strode out the door.

San gave a conspiratorial look around the room to the others. “Hm, sounds like Seonghwa’s mystery guest is back.”

“What has it been… months?” Mingi asked.

Wooyoung blinked in confusion. “Huh?”

“We’re pretty sure it’s a familiar he’s hiding from us… well, trying to, but he knows we know. He has to.” San told him.

“Usually we just meet our familiars in the common room, they get what they need and leave… or we catch them while they’re running an errand for us.” Mingi explained. “But Seonghwa’s had one familiar for  _ years  _ who insists they meet alone and in secret.”

“Do you… have any idea who it is?” Wooyoung queried, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Did you miss the ‘secret’ part?” San muttered in a flat tone.

Wooyoung felt a pang of embarrassment.

“Of course we know.” Mingi said with a roll of his eyes. “I figured it out years ago.”

“Really? Then why all the mystery?” Wooyoung asked, glaring at San as the other laughed at his expense.

“Seonghwa pretends he doesn’t know that we know.” Yeosang explained. “Likely for his familiar’s benefit. You see, he didn’t become a familiar to save his own life. He simply did it for the benefits it afforded. Mildly enhanced healing, the mitigation of all those aches and pains that humans grow to live with… that, and the slower rate of aging. He’s not dependent on the blood so he comes and goes as he pleases. He hasn’t been around for months.”

“That seems reasonable, though. Wanting to be a familiar just for the benefits.” Wooyoung replied thoughtfully. “I mean, I’m surprised more people don’t do that. But I guess the media does a good job of making it sound as if they’ll become like… vampire sex slaves or whatever.”

“Not to mention that it’s particularly frowned upon in his line of work.” Mingi added.

Wooyoung’s brow furrowed. “Why’s that?”

Yeosang rested a finger over his lip, like he was telling a secret.

“Well, like Hongjoong… he’s also a vampire hunter.”

***

Seonghwa found his mind wandering as he traversed the dank stone corridors beneath the mansion. He’d had them dug out in the worst-case scenario that they would need to make an escape in the middle of the day, and they went on and on for kilometers in several directions. He knew the person he would be meeting, though, would be in the same place as always.

There was a chamber where several tunnels all converged, metal-gated archways surrounding it from all sides, each equidistant from the others. Behind the gate directly across from him, a man stood in the shadows, visible in the dark only to Seonghwa’s sharp eyes.

“Long time no see, my friend.” Seonghwa said as he approached the gate. “I was becoming worried.”

“Hunt took longer than expected.” The man told him, his tone cold and void of any traceable emotion.

“I heard whispers you were tracking down a vampire in Taiwan.” Seonghwa replied.

“You heard correctly.” The man confirmed.

“I assume that went well for you?”

“Enough with the pleasantries and small talk, Seonghwa. You know why I’m here.”

Seonghwa chuckled softly, shaking his head. He stabbed a sharp fingernail into the heel of his own palm, then slid his hand through the metal bars.

“Still with all this precaution. You should know well enough by now that you can trust me.”

“And you should know well enough by now that it isn’t  _ you _ I don’t trust.” The hunter countered, raising an eyebrow.

Seonghwa inclined his head, conceding the point.

The hunter leaned forward, snatching Seonghwa’s wrist to hold it in place—pointlessly, they both knew—as he licked the blood clean from the skin.

When he pulled away, wiping his mouth on his own hand, Seonghwa retracted his arm.

“Will that be all, then?” Seonghwa asked cordially.

“No. Word through the stake-vine is that you have yourself a new high-profile familiar.” The hunter said, accusatory. “Kim Hongjoong.”

“Your informant would be correct.” Seonghwa admitted freely.

“Collecting hunters now?”

“Two is  _ hardly  _ a collection…” Seonghwa rebuffed. “And the two of you could not be more different. Your circumstances and personality both.”

“Interesting that you say so. Regardless, I would have thought that one would’ve lived and died by his hate of vampires. And now I imagine he’s a welcome guest in your home.”

“As are you.” Seonghwa pointed out. “Were you to accept the invitation, and cease insisting on all this skulking around in the dark.”

The other ignored him. “What happened? What changed Hongjoong’s mind?”

“I have always found that the greatest cure for ignorance is knowledge.” Seonghwa answered. “I showed him the truth.”

“And how did he take it? Knowing that vampires and humans aren’t as different as he believed?” He asked. “How did he take finding out that the worst vampires can only be made from the worst of humans?”

“Only a mild existential crisis. He’s not so pessimistic and jaded as you.” Seonghwa replied with a smirk.

The hunter rolled his eyes. “Hongjoong has always been the type to believe vampires were the monsters of this world. I’ve simply known for a long while that humans are just as bad.”

“Sometimes I believe you tend to forget there are decent people in this world, too. Human and vampire alike.” Seonghwa chided almost fondly.

“Sometimes it’s easy to forget… when you see the things I do.” The hunter replied, his tone haunted and hollow.

“The world was never meant to be perfect. It is important to not let the horrors of it drown out all the good.” Seonghwa said.

“I suppose it’s lucky I have you to remind me, then.”

Seonghwa smiled, a melancholy thing. “I suppose so.”

The hunter didn’t respond. After a long moment, he cleared his throat, turning to go. “Be seeing you.”

“Until the next time. And, for whatever it may be worth… I  _ am  _ glad to see that you are well.” Seonghwa told him, his gaze as earnest as his tone as he stared after his retreating back.

“Take care of yourself, Eden.”

***

It wasn’t often that Hongjoong’s base received visitors.

Only a select few people knew its precise location, and Hongjoong liked to keep it that way. Hunters were, for the most part, in the business for themselves, making it too risky to put your trust in someone unless you really knew them. And even then, it was still a gamble.

So when a trio of loud thuds resounded from the front entrance, like someone pounding a fist against the metal, the list of possible suspects was decidedly small.

It was for that reason that Hongjoong was not entirely surprised to see that it was Eden. He opened the door, welcome his fellow hunter inside.

“Long time no see, Eden-hyung. Heard you were in Taipei or something?”

“Taiwan.” Eden corrected distractedly as he took in the room.

“Right, Taiwan.” Hongjoong said. “Your ears must have been burning. We were just talking about you the other day.”

“It does seem to happen that way, doesn’t it?” Eden replied with a huff of a laugh, looking around. “Where’s your team?”

“Supply run.” Hongjoong lied easily. They were getting food, which was almost the same. “What brings you here? It’s not like you to just drop by unannounced.”

“I heard you were investigating the Seoul disappearances.”

Hongjoong’s brow furrowed. “Yeah, me and half the hunting community.”

“I know you, though. You’re like a dog with a bone. You won’t stop until you see it through.” Eden countered.

Hongjoong blinked. “I mean, that’s how it should be.”

“Not with this case.” Eden told him. “It’s dangerous.”

“Our job  _ is  _ dangerous.” Hongjoong scoffed. “It’s the nature of the thing.”

“This is different.” Eden said, his tone hard. “If you start venturing down that rabbit hole, you may not like where it leads.”

There was something in the way he said it that made Hongjoong cease his arguing. “I’ll… keep that in mind.”

“Good.” Eden replied. Then, after a beat, he spoke again. “I also heard you ended up a familiar of Seonghwa from the Coven of Twilight.”

Hongjoong’s eyes narrowed. “Where’d you hear that?”

“People talk.”

Hongjoong frowned at the non-answer. “Yeah. What of it?”

“All things considered, there were worse choices. I’d argue he was the  _ best _ choice. His blood is ancient; it will afford you the greatest increase in stamina and healing possible, and he’s always been diplomatic with hunters. Many coven leaders are hostile toward those in our profession.” Eden said. “I’m just surprised you went that route at all. You didn’t seem the type ”

“It wasn’t exactly a… choice.” Hongjoong replied slowly, confused.

Eden’s brow furrowed. Then, it dawned on him. “You were dying. That’s what he meant when he said we had different circumstances. You… you’re  _ dependent  _ on it.”

“Yeah, I mean. That’s how it usually is.” Hongjoong countered, staring for a moment until Eden’s words sunk in. “Wait.  _ You? _ Since when?”

“Since before you were born.” Eden replied dryly.

Hongjoong sputtered. “Wait… what?”

“You never questioned how I could have thirty years of hunting under my belt, but not look like I’m out of my twenties?”

“We’re… Asian…?” Hongjoong reasoned, because it was true that his people tended to age gracefully.

Eden rolled his eyes. “I’m forty-three, Hongjoong-ah.”

Hongjoong choked. “ _ What?! _ That’s… but…”

“I’ve been hunting since before you were born, before vampires were known to all the world. Seonghwa was the first vampire I met who I didn’t have an immediate reason to put down. He introduced me to some of the people who were dependent on his blood—familiars—and they weren’t crazed or mindless at all. Before him, I put down every vampire I met.”

“What changed?”

Eden huffed a mirthless laugh. “He asked me if I executed human killers with the same conviction.”

Hongjoong snorted. “That… definitely sounds like Seonghwa.”

“Meeting his coven certainly made me question what I believed to be true about vampires.” Eden continued. “It’s easy to hate them when the only ones you meet are killers, when they’re so desperate to live that they’ll fight you tooth and nail for that right. It becomes harder to dehumanize someone who invites you into their home and offers you wine and never once makes you feel threatened.”

“That… also sounds like Seonghwa.” Hongjoong said. “And you just… what? Asked him to make you a familiar?” 

“Eventually. It was some time later. I had a lot of old injuries that I knew were going to start coming back to haunt me. Seonghwa offered. I mulled it over for a long time, but I eventually accepted.”

Hongjoong swallowed. “You don’t seem like you’re… really close with him, with  _ them _ , though.”

Eden regarded him for a moment, as though he was deciding whether or not to call him out on that particular line of questioning.

“No. We kept our relationship strictly professional. It’s better that we didn’t complicate matters.”

Hongjoong frowned, wondering if maybe he himself had some shitty self-control for a hunter.

“In your case…” Eden continued carefully, “whatever you chose, or choose… as long as you make the choice for yourself, then you made the right one.”

“You say that as though the choice  _ wasn’t  _ yours.”

“It isn’t… not really. Someone who gives a damn about law-abiding vampires needs to remain completely trusted by the Bureau.”

Hongjoong’s eyes narrowed. “You think they’re dirty?”

“I think they are looking for any excuse to rip up the Human-Vampire Accords and initiate a complete extermination of the vampire race.” Eden said, his tone grave. “Two months ago, I feel as though I could have told you that, and you would have been just fine with it. But now…”

“They’re people. They’re still the people they were before, when they were human. It would be genocide. We can’t let them.”

“No, we can’t.” Eden agreed, giving him a meaningful look. “So any rabbit holes you come across? Best to not let the Bureau see hide nor hair of them.”

Hongjoong set his shoulders, determined. “I understand.”

Eden nodded and turned to go, regarding the weapons belt hung up by the door with an amused grin. “I always knew you were going to be one hell of a hunter, Hongjoong-ah. But it’s better to know that you turned out to be a good man.”

As Hongjoong watched him go, he wondered, in their profession, just what exactly that was even worth.

***

The next time Hongjoong went to see Seonghwa, he was distracted. The vampire seemed to make it his personal goal to drag him out of his own head, easing him through polite conversation until he’d managed to get more than just a couple words out of him.

After Hongjoong took Seonghwa’s blood to ensure he would keep healing, he only let the vampire pull two orgasms out of him and sucked Seonghwa off himself before telling him to play with the rest of his coven. Hongjoong just sat off in the corner on that settee again, watching. It was actually nice to observe when his body hadn’t entirely checked out, his brain far from fizzled out this time. Pleasure sat coiled low and warm in his gut as he watched, his stomach jolting whenever someone let out a particularly lovely sound, causing his dick to twitch in interest.

He didn’t really think that sandwiching himself between any of them was an intelligent course of action. Seonghwa would likely claim that he would mesh beautifully, like a perfectly-fitted cog in an intricate network of moving parts… but Hongjoong knew it would more closely resemble being fed through a meat grinder. Seonghwa alone was already hard enough to handle. He wasn’t ready to try anything as adventurous as Wooyoung had… though that image of him between Seonghwa and Yeosang was surely burned into his retinas.

He jolted when he noticed someone had entered his space. It was Wooyoung, kneeling in front of him, looking up at him from between his legs with a sweet, fervent expression. He stifled a laugh when he saw how Hongjoong jumped.

“Sorry… you just looked a little lonely over here all by yourself again.”

“Mm, s’all right.” Hongjoong mumbled. “Most of your coven doesn’t like me very much.”

“Because you tried to kill me.” Wooyoung reminded matter-of-factly.

“...yeah.” Hongjoong looked away, coughing uncomfortably. “Maybe you shouldn’t—”

“You’re not gonna hurt me, right?” Wooyoung asked, leveling him with an earnest gaze.

Hongjoong shook his head. “No. I meant what I said after. I made a mistake.”

“Okay.” Wooyoung licked his lips nervously, sliding his hands up Hongjoong’s thighs. “So then… are you still only interested in watching, or can I…?”

Hongjoong swallowed. “O-only if you want to.”

Wooyoung beamed, his whole face lighting up. “Yeah. I wouldn’t be over here if I didn’t.”

“Right…” Hongjoong murmured, feeling his face heat up when Wooyoung leaned down and nuzzled against his cock, running his tongue along the underside experimentally.

Wooyoung eventually took him into his mouth, bobbing his head up and down but keeping his eyes on Hongjoong, like he wanted to make sure he was doing well, that Hongjoong was enjoying himself. The hunter found himself letting out a stuttered breath and leaning back, carding a hand into Wooyoung’s hair.

On the bed, Mingi was busy running his tongue over every inch of San’s chest and abdomen, while Seonghwa pinned Yeosang to the bed on his hands and knees with nothing but a look.

“Is this what you’re looking for tonight, my precious Yeosang?” Seonghwa asked as he unbuckled his belt and pulled it from the loops swiftly.

Yeosang nodded manically, looking back over his shoulder to watch him. “Yes. Please.”

“Mm, I do enjoy when you ask for the things you need.” Seonghwa told him, so clearly a dig.

Yeosang moved his arms behind himself, to the small of his back, where Seonghwa looped the belt around them. It was a little difficult for Yeosang to balance on his chest, but he let his knees take his weight so his face wasn’t completely forced against the bed. 

Seonghwa tightened the belt until it bit hard into the skin, knowing it couldn’t do any real harm.

“You may not be as outwardly needy as San, Yeosang… but the way you crave my individual attention is  _ so _ endearing.” He goaded, truth spun into a heavy-handed play at talking dirty. “I find it just as impossible to deny you, if only you bother to ask.”

Seonghwa knew Yeosang wanted him more than he’d ever let on in all their years. That didn’t change the fact that  _ he  _ hadn’t been the one to reach out first, and so, Yeosang would continue to hold back, all that time.

Seonghwa didn’t take his time preparing him, knowing that wasn’t what he wanted. When he first breached him, letting his cock slide home in one swift movement, he knew  _ damn _ well just what Yeosang wanted.

Yeosang was already starting to rut back against him as Seonghwa grabbed his hips, fucking into him hard and fast.

“Nnh, can’t remember the last time you fucked me like this…” Yeosang gritted out over his shoulder.

“Just after we signed the Accords, I think.” Seonghwa answered. “None of us left the mansion for weeks.”

“Over fifteen years ago?” Yeosang huffed. “How the time flies.”

“That long? Couldn’t be.” Seonghwa hissed, scandalized.

“Perhaps once or twice since then.” Yeosang conceded.

“ _ Gods _ . Never let me allow you to go so long without this…  _ ever  _ again. What a travesty.”

“It’s all right.” Yeosang replied, soft at the edges with fond forgiveness, “San has obliged me on numerous occasions.”

“Not quite like this.” Seonghwa said, his tone meaningful.

“No, not quite.” Yeosang agreed, shivering when Seonghwa raked a hand up his spine before grabbing a fistful of his hair and tugging  _ hard _ , forcing him to arch his back.

“And what is that makes it  _ so  _ different, Yeosang?” Seonghwa asked, the timbre of his voice completely even despite the hard, steady movement of his hips.

“Y-you were the one who turned me.” Yeosang gasped out. “There are times when it feels as though you have power over me, that you could simply  _ unmake  _ me if you wished.”

“Perish the thought. As though I would even  _ consider it _ , even if it were within my power.” Seonghwa chided softly. “But this isn’t really about what I  _ would _ do, is it?”

Yeosang shook his head as well as he could with Seonghwa holding so fervently to his hair. Eventually, he released him, only to use both hands to flip him over, not even having to pull out or break his stride to do so. It was uncomfortable, the way he was forced to bow his back up over his own bound arms, but the obscene angle it forced him into seemed to please his sire, so he wouldn’t complain.

Seonghwa continued to fuck him mercilessly, eyes wandering idly to San, who was laid out on his back a little further down on the bed. Mingi was knelt in front of him on the floor, eating him out like it was his last meal while San squirmed and writhed under his attentions.

It wasn’t long before he was shaking and coming all over himself with a growled-out litany of moans. Mingi was happy to clean up the mess he made of his stomach, licking up every bit of it.

That gave Seonghwa ideas.

“Hm,  _ your _ mouth is looking quite unoccupied, Yeosang.” Seonghwa drawled like it was the most regrettable thing imaginable, pressing two fingers roughly against the other’s tongue. “That’s such a shame. Wooyoung?”

Across the room, Wooyoung pulled off of Hongjoong’s cock with an obscene sound. “Coming!”

He winked at Hongjoong and swatted his thigh softly before standing and returning to the bed. The hunter probably would have been pissed as all hell had he not seen him nudge San and motion back toward him. At least he was considerate enough to do that.

“Yes, come here, love.” Yeosang murmured, encouraging Wooyoung to kneel over him on the bed. The fledgling obediently did just that, keening as Yeosang did exactly as Seonghwa had suggested and put his mouth to good use.

Hongjoong’s attention was pulled away from the trio on the bed when San approached, wearing a smug smirk.

“Mm, it’s not too often I get to play with a hunter.” San cooed, pushing Hongjoong’s knees slightly further apart to settle comfortably between them. 

“It’s not too often I get to be around such sweet vampires.” Hongjoong bit back, raising an eyebrow.

“Ooh, flattery will get you everywhere with me.” San singsonged, wrapping a hand around the hunter’s spit-slick cock and tugging twice experimentally, gauging his reaction. Grinning, he closed his lips around him, taking him down slowly at first, then all at once.

Hongjoong groaned, tipping his head back a little, but he nearly jumped out of his skin when a larger figure threw themselves down on the settee next to him with no regard for his personal space.

“I’m just here to watch.” Mingi told him in a steely tone, jaw set as he gave him a hard stare.

“Got it.” Hongjoong mumbled, though his eyes could not help but wander over him. Mingi had a gorgeous body, and a  _ glorious  _ cock.

“Mm, it’s impressive, isn’t it?” San asked knowingly after pulling off of Hongjoong with a lewd pop. “I actually  _ like  _ to top but  _ god _ , it feels like a waste when his dick looks like  _ that _ , right?”

Hongjoong nodded, swallowing. There was a beat as San took him down again, causing him to jolt slightly.

“C-could I?” It had tumbled out of his mouth before Hongjoong could catch himself, already reaching out with one hand, hesitant.

Mingi narrowed his eyes at the hunter. “ _ You _ want to suck a vampire off?”

“You wouldn’t be the first.” Hongjoong quipped wryly, earning a snort from San as he pulled off again.

“Mm, c’mon Mingi, I wanna see him gag on it.” He said with a gleeful smile. Mingi didn’t respond right away.

“What, you afraid I’m gonna bite you?” Hongjoong drawled, smirking.

“You can try whatever you like with those pathetic little human teeth of yours.” Mingi said like he was daring him. He grabbed Hongjoong’s chin, tipping his face upward until their eyes met. “Just remember, mine are a  _ lot  _ sharper.”

Hongjoong swallowed whatever clever reply he might’ve contrived, because really, it wasn’t worth it. Mingi already didn’t trust him… he didn’t need to draw more of his ire.

After a moment, Mingi let him go. Hongjoong made to lean forward, but before he could, Mingi shifted so that he was up on one knee on the settee, his other foot flat on the floor. Their height difference was such that while Hongjoong was sat in front of where Mingi was knelt, the vampire’s navel was practically at eye level with him.

Hongjoong didn’t exactly revel in being small, but it felt like a heady thing, then.

He brought one hand up to wrap around him at the base, finding that his fingertips just barely didn’t touch his thumb. He had small hands, sure, but Mingi was not lacking in girth either. Hongjoong swallowed.

“Having second thoughts?” Mingi asked, and he might have read it as goading had he not looked up to see the vampire was wearing a sort of guarded expression. It wasn’t cocky or smug at all, even though he had plenty of right to be.

“No.” Hongjoong croaked out, his voice giving out a little when San took him down and did something particularly sinful with his tongue. He found himself shivering as he leaned in and licked over him, then took him into his mouth little by little, letting his tongue work over him.

San was a little distracted watching him, not giving his all. He looked on in anticipation as Hongjoong tried to take him deeper, only for his throat to protest. He pulled off a bit before he could choke, catching his breath.

“You don’t  _ have  _ to take it all the way. Unlike us, you’ve gotta breathe.” Mingi told him with a huff of a laugh that was just shy of fond amusement.

Hongjoong just gave him a look that was as defiant as it was determined, trying again.

“All right, all right, I’m not questioning your  _ skills _ .” Mingi insisted, shaking his head and threading a hand into Hongjoong’s hair. “Nothing scarier than a hunter with something to prove.”

San pulled off with a lewd sound, raising an eyebrow. “Nothing hotter, too.”

Hongjoong let out a soft noise as he took him down again, struggling to go past two-thirds before he started feeling his throat protest and lock up.

“You’re too tense. You’re in your own head about it.” Mingi murmured, not unkindly. “Listen, just relax. M’not gonna sit here and make you choke on purpose.”

Hongjoong grunted, setting his shoulders and letting out a long breath through his nose. He opened his mouth wider, forcing his throat open, then tried to take him deeper. His body objected, however, and he had to pull off when he started gagging.

“Stop, stop.” Mingi said, running his hand across the curve of Hongjoong’s cheek.

San had all but stilled in Hongjoong’s lap, stroking over him slowly, but not enough to cause a distraction. 

“Your jaw’s still tight. Relax, all of it. Let your mouth hang open, don’t tense your tongue either.” Hongjoong obeyed, Mingi feeling the shift immediately. “ _ That’s _ it. Now just, breathe. Lemme do the work.”

Hongjoong did his best to do just that, to focus on his breathing and will himself not to gag. Mingi moved slowly, just rocking his hips in a languid cadence, not even forcing him to take him all the way down. Whenever he went just a little deeper, just a little further, Hongjoong felt his throat flutter and clamp down. He balled his hands up into fists until the feeling passed, until he could take him all the way without wanting to gag.

Hongjoong’s hands moved to Mingi’s thighs, curving around the backs of them to hold himself steady. It was a lot, it was  _ so much _ , but if he surrendered himself to it, he could feel the way his body relaxed into it. He couldn’t have imagined ever being  _ this _ relaxed around vampires,  _ this _ trusting, but this was Seonghwa’s coven. He knew, intrinsically, that they weren’t a threat to him.

Mingi’s hand had carded into Hongjoong’s hair, holding him gently, like he was afraid any amount of strength was too much to use against a human like him. He wanted him to try, though, wanted him to push the limits of his physiology… wanted to prove that he was capable of so much more than they believed. He let out a needy sound around Mingi’s cock that got caught up in his throat, looking up with an expression he hoped relayed that very thought.

He wasn’t sure that it did. Mingi did tighten his grip, but only just, hissing out a curse under his breath. “ _ Christ _ , you’re eager, huh, sugar?”

He found himself whimpering, but this time it was because San had taken him back down, apparently bored with not giving his all. Hongjoong could feel his focus falter, could feel his throat protesting a little too much, his jaw tightening. Mingi noticed, pulling him off most of the way so he could catch his breath and revel in it without too much distraction. San’s ministrations deserved all his attention, glorious as they were.

He tried to split his focus, he really did… swirling his tongue along the underside of Mingi’s cock, then pulling off a bit more to suckle at the head. But San was doing something  _ filthy _ , Hongjoong didn’t even really know what, but it was too much, and he pulled off with a gasp as he felt himself coming undone.

His hands found the back of the settee, digging into the scrolling wood accents as he writhed, his back arching lewdly. Mingi bit his lip as the watched the two of them, stroking his own cock in time with the bobbing of San’s head.

“Where d’ya want this, sugar?” Mingi asked in a low voice like gravel, pace picking up.

Hongjoong let out a garbled sound that might’ve been a word, and maybe Mingi understood him, because it wasn’t a minute later that he was coming all over Hongjoong’s chest, making a mess all the way up to his neck. Seconds later he was following with a strained shout, bucking up hard as he came down San’s throat. San took it all gladly, then had the audacity to pull off and lean up to lick the other’s torso completely clean.

Hongjoong’s chest was heaving as he watched San run his tongue over him, the heated look in his eyes somehow both sated and hungering all at once.

San eventually pulled away and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, smirking as he stood. “Mm, I could get used to seeing you so wrecked and pliant, hunter-boy.”

He leaned down and gave Hongjoong an absolutely filthy kiss, licking the taste of himself and Mingi back into the other’s mouth. After a moment, he pulled back and winked before heading over to the bed.

Hongjoong let out a grunt, overwhelmed. It took him a moment to speak, and when he did, his voice was completely wrecked. “You will all be the death of me.”

Mingi chuckled, settling back onto the settee next to Hongjoong. “I don’t know. From what I’ve heard you've always been kinda reckless. I think you brought all the stupid here with you.”

Hongjoong huffed and pushed at Mingi’s face with his palm before the two of them just laughed.

“I’d like to launch a formal protest.” San piped up as he moved toward the bed.

“What for, exactly?” Seonghwa asked in a dry tone, still fucking Yeosang with absolute abandon while Wooyoung writhed on top of him.

“Everyone in this coven  _ but me _ has gotten to fuck Wooyoung.” San said, sounding put-upon.

“Have you tried asking nicely?” Seonghwa countered in a lilting tone.

San sighed. “Wooyoung, could you be convinced to forsake Yeosang’s—admittedly fantastic—mouth for what I promise will be something equally thrilling?”

Yeosang stopped moving, but Wooyoung’s brain was still slow to catch up. He blinked at San for several long seconds before he finally came back to his senses.

“What? I… sure, I guess, yeah.”

San let out something close to a delighted squeak, climbing onto the bed behind him as he scooted back just enough so that he was above Yeosang’s head. Yeosang, who looked up at him with a fucked-out expression, eyelids fluttering every time Seonghwa’s hips met his.

Yeosang had already been working him open with his tongue, so Wooyoung was pliant under San’s touch as he grabbed the lube and fingered him, just to be sure. He slicked himself up before pressing inside, pulling the other’s hips flush against his without hesitance or preamble, which earned him a sweet, gasped-out little sound.

“I don’t recall telling you to stop using that mouth of yours, Yeosang.” Seonghwa said in a dangerous tone.

Yeosang let out a soft noise and pushed himself up on his bound arms, with no little amount of effort, craning his head back and taking Wooyoung’s cock into his mouth. It was  _ lewd _ , it was practically contortionism, but he did it anyway, pulling another lovely sound out of Wooyoung as he worked his tongue over him.

Eventually he just held his tongue still, let the kick of San’s and Seonghwa’s hips both in tandem force Wooyoung deeper into his mouth. It was driving him crazy, the sounds they were making, mingling with his own as he writhed in his overly-complex position, chasing his own pleasure but knowing, above all, he want to give it, first.

He didn’t realize he was waiting for permission to come until Seonghwa had mercy on him, running a hand reverently down the length of his torso, the movement of his own hips never erring.

“Come for us, Yeosang.” He said, and that was it. He arched up even further and let out a muffled whine around Wooyoung’s cock, coming all over himself in long streaks.

Wooyoung completely fell apart at the sight, grabbing Yeosang’s hair and rutting his hips in little circles until he was coming down his eager throat. San delighted in it, shoving at Wooyoung’s back until he laid out across Yeosang’s chest, San picking up his pace and fucking him hard as he chased his own release.

Wooyoung’s hands scrambled at Seonghwa’s hips as he pulled out of Yeosang, but he was quick to grab hold of his cock, working his hand over him.

“Seonghwa.” He said, and that sweet melodic voice was a plea, the elder knew. He grinned indulgently, pushing Wooyoung’s hair out of his face before he gave him what he wanted, coming into his waiting mouth and across his lips and cheeks with a soft hiss.

San cursed at the sight, raking his nails down Wooyoung’s back as he trembled and pulled out to come over his back and thighs, making even more of a mess of him.

Wooyoung just grunted contentedly, rolling off of Yeosang and basking in the sweet glow for a long, silent moment.

***

After they’d cleaned themselves up… arguably a tedious endeavor, given the condition they were in, they all gathered in the common room to wind down. Seonghwa had served everyone blood, save Hongjoong, who sat next to him in his borrowed robe drinking a glass of something pinkish. From the way it was fizzing, it was likely water with one of those electrolyte tablets dropped into it.

“You know, it looks a whole less off-putting when you just, drink it out of glasses like that.” Hongjoong commented, watching as Mingi threw back his entire portion with little effort where he was settled on his other side.

“What did you expect that we drank it out of skulls? Or ripped open our familiars’ throats?” San goaded, giving him a look.

Hongjoong ducked behind his glass, coughing.

“We hardly feed from our familiars at all anymore. It’s easier for them just to donate to our stores.” Seonghwa said. “You’re the first familiar in a long while that we’ve brought into the fold like this.”

“I was wondering about that.” Hongjoong mumbled. “I never see your familiars around.”

“They live their own lives.” Mingi told him.

“We used to have familiars that wanted nothing but to indulge in hedonistic fantasies all day and night.” Yeosang explained. “They saw us more as a fetish than a family.”

“And now?” Hongjoong asked.

“Now we only keep familiars who are in need. Those who are sick, usually. Seonghwa pays them a more than reasonable salary to help us out with small errands or cleaning the mansion, but they have their own lives, even their own separate employment elsewhere, should they choose to.” Yeosang answered. “They do donate blood to our private stores on occasion but we hardly even feed from them, honestly.”

“It feels kind of wrong, actually. They just want to live full lives. They aren’t interested in the vampire lifestyle.” San explained. “Half of them are sweet old folk, mothers… ”

“Hunters.” Hongjoong chimed in.

“Hunters.” San agreed with a chuckle. 

Across the couch, Seonghwa gave him a look… and he had no doubt that the elder vampire knew just what he was implying. There was something so intuitive about the look in his eyes that he was certain he knew exactly who he had meant… not just himself.

They settled into a sort of easy silence, then. Yeosang eventually gathering up their glasses and bringing them back to the kitchen. 

Hongjoong balanced his drink on his thigh with one hand, the other playing idly with his phone. When he stopped tapping at the screen for a moment, Mingi held out a hand for it.

The hunter gave him a questioning look, but handed it over anyway.

“Just figured you should have my number.” He explained in a low voice.

“Seonghwa gave me his.” Hongjoong protested, but the vampire created a new contact for himself anyway.

“That’s for when you need  _ him _ . But in case you ever need me, you know. I’m more involved with your line of work. I find myself in hunting forums more often than you might think. Good place for intel.”

“Last time I was here you were snarling at me. Now you’re treating me  _ almost _ like you trust me.” Hongjoong wheedled, grinning at him.

“Hard not to trust someone at least a bit when they’ve had your dick down their throat.” Mingi said with an endearing smile, setting the phone aside.

Hongjoong huffed a laugh. “Fair point.”

“Look. I’m not saying you shouldn’t call Seonghwa first if you need something, but there are some things in your business I could maybe help out with.” Mingi continued. “So if you ever need a hand, give me a holler.”

“Sure… though my tech guy might get offended.” Hongjoong replied with a smirk.

“Eh, I’m sure he can see an opportunity when one comes up.” Mingi told him. “We try to remain on this side of legal with our intel-gathering, but vampire money buys a lot of information. Unfortunately it buys a lot of silence, too, so it’s a mixed bag.”

“Human money’s just the same.” Hongjoong mumbled, sounding distracted. “Corruption’s everywhere.”

“That’s true. S’just that vamps live so long that we tend to amass a lot of wealth, y’know?” Mingi said. “I think half the high-rises in Seoul are owned by vampires nowadays.”

“Yeah. Wait. That’s… huh.” Hongjoong petered off as his mind wandered, cogs turning in his head. “How did I not notice? How did no one else notice?”

“Notice what?” Mingi asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

“The buildings. I never checked to see who owned all the  _ buildings _ .” Hongjoong explained, as though that alone were explanation enough without further context.

The hunter jumped up, throwing his clothes on hastily.

“Hongjoong-ah, what is it?” Seonghwa asked, concerned. “Where are you going?”

“Seoul. Investigating a lead!” He replied hurriedly as he finished tugging on his pants, going for his shirt next.

“The last time you went  _ investigating  _ something, you became so wrapped up in it that you nearly went too long without my blood.” Seonghwa chided, eyes following him as he headed for the foyer.

“Won’t happen again.” Hongjoong assured, grabbing his keys after he threw on his shoes by the door. “I’ll be back within a week.”

“All right… but do be cautious. My blood cannot bail you out of everything.” Seonghwa said, and just like that, he was out the door.

The vampires sat in silence for some moments before San spoke.

“That was… weird.”

“He was speaking to Mingi about something.” Seonghwa replied. “There was mention of buildings?”

“I don’t know, honestly. He just started spouting nonsense and burned rubber outta here.” Mingi shrugged. “It is what it is. He’s a hunter. That’s the job.”

Something about it still didn’t sit well with Seonghwa, and his gorgeous countenance was marred with a deep frown as he stared off into the middle-distance, thoughtful.

“In any case, it’s well into the morning. We should sleep.” Yeosang suggested, rising.

“Agreed. I’m so tired—wait.” Wooyoung halted, reaching over on the couch and grabbing for something. “What’s this?”

It was Hongjoong’s cell.

“He forgot his phone.” Seonghwa realized, standing suddenly. “I should bring it to him.”

“Where?” Yeosang asked, incredulous. “You don’t even know where he went.”

“He said he was investigating something in the city.” Seonghwa answered. “I can track him there by scent.”

“From your  _ car _ ? It’s daytime, Seonghwa. Let it go.” Yeosang admonished. “He’ll notice soon enough and come back for it, I’m sure.”

“Yeosangie’s right. Come to bed, we can deal with it after sunset.” San insisted.

Seonghwa let out something between a huff and a sigh, but joined his covenmates as they headed up the stairs. They all went to their separate rooms to change while he changed his own sheets. It didn’t take long, and soon he had changed into his own sleep clothes, ready to settle down for the night… or at least attempt to.

He could feel anxiousness bubbling under his skin, simmering uneasily. Too many shadows of his past clawed their way into his consciousness, and he feared all the terrible outcomes that could result from such a simple mistake. He’d seen so many terrible things in his life that it was hard not to believe that the worst could come to pass at any moment. It made him want to pace, to disregard his fledglings’ wishes and go after Hongjoong… but he didn’t get the chance. He wasn’t halfway to his bedroom door when the others entered, looking intent on making themselves comfortable.

“What’s all this?” Seonghwa asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

“We know damn well you won’t sleep when you’re like this, not if you’re alone.” San said. “Now get on the fucking bed, we’re gonna cuddle you into submission whether you like it or not.”

Seonghwa couldn’t help but let out a huff of a laugh at that, shaking his head as he did as he was told. He others piled in around him within seconds, so close that they were all touching him in some way, even if it was just a single hand slung over another to grab for him. 

There were so many dark shadows in the deepest corners of his mind, the vestiges of memories he had long since done his best to bury. But it was moments like this that were the brightest spots of all, and sometimes it seemed they could burn so brightly that they banished the shadows altogether.

***

After the sun had set, they still had not heard anything from Hongjoong, and Seonghwa was visibly worried as they all gathered in the common room, where the hunter’s phone still sat.

“Surely he would have noticed it is missing by now.” Seonghwa commented, looking as though he was ready to vibrate out of his skin. He appeared seconds away from pacing, held back only by his impeccable self-control. “Why hasn’t he reached out?”

“He likely doesn’t have your number memorized yet.” Yeosang told him. “And maybe he isn’t somewhere he can call his own phone from.”

“The mansion’s number is in the Coven directory for the Accords. He could easily access that data, if necessary.” Seonghwa reasoned.

“If he bothered to even check.” Wooyoung piped up. “As the only person here who was born in the same century as Hongjoong… I can say I probably wouldn’t go looking in a directory for a number. Everything’s text and KakaoTalk now.”

Seonghwa sighed, shaky with tension. “I don’t like this. If he is in need of something, he will be on his own.”

“You worry too much. Hongjoong’s a big boy. He can handle himself.” San said.

“Actually, he’s kind of… tiny.” Mingi mumbled off-hand.

Wooyoung made a cute squeak of a noise. “I know! He’s so little! It’s like, how did so much anti-vampire hatred fit into such a small package? How does he kill vampires for a  _ living _ ?”

“Effectively.” Yeosang grunted, frowning. 

“I  _ meant _ he’s an adult. Jeez.” San huffed. “So don’t get too stressed over it, okay, Seonghwa? I can literally feel the tension you’re throwing off in waves. Why don’t we… watch a movie together to calm you down, hm?”

“That’s a lovely idea.” Yeosang agreed. When the elder vampire opened his mouth to protest, Yeosang gave him a stern look. “ _ Seonghwa _ .”

He sighed, finally acquiescing and throwing himself down onto the couch dramatically.

San draped himself over his lap so he couldn’t change his mind. “Yay! What are we watching?”

“Something  _ lighthearted _ .” Yeosang insisted, but it seemed everyone could agree to that anyway.

Wooyoung settled between Yeosang and Mingi, his legs thrown over Mingi’s lap while he laid against Yeosang’s chest, the two of them petting idly over his skin. Every once in a while, San would grab at Mingi’s knee or one of Wooyoung’s socked feet in a teasing manner. Seonghwa mostly kept to himself, his mind clearly elsewhere for a large portion of the movie. Eventually, he let his hands settle in San’s hair and at least managed to pay attention to the third act.

It was during a lull in the action that a screeching, mechanical sound cut through the quiet room, nearly sending Wooyoung onto the floor in his shock, were it not for Mingi holding to his legs. Yeosang petted his back soothingly while Seonghwa got up to investigate, Mingi pausing the film.

It was Hongjoong’s phone.

He picked it up, reading the screen: RED ALERT. SEOUL BASE 001 COMPROMISED. 

“It seems to be a warning… some kind of attack at his base.” Seonghwa said.

“He wasn’t going back to his base, though, right?” San spoke up. “Didn’t he say he was investigating something in the city?”

“He did.” Yeosang confirmed. “So he probably isn’t there.”

“He may not be there, but he has… friends. A team!” Seonghwa replied frantically. “This must mean they’re in danger.”

Mingi blinked at him. “And?”

“ _ And _ ?” Seonghwa hissed. “ _ And _ we should  _ help them _ ! He doesn’t have his phone, he cannot know they have need of him.”

“His team doesn’t know us. We could be heading into a mob of hunters who would kill us on sight.” Mingi protested.

“They must know Hongjoong is a familiar by now. We cannot just sit here and do  _ nothing _ .” Seonghwa bit back. “I am going.”

“You can’t go alone. I’ll come with you.” San piped up.

Mingi balked. “I’m not letting just the two of you go. San, you’re not a fighter.”

“This is a rescue mission.” San reminded him.

Mingi sighed. “What if the hunter comes back here?”

“Yeosang and I can stay and watch the place. If he comes back for his phone, we can tell him what happened.” Wooyoung reasoned. 

“We need to go. We don’t know how imminent this warning is.” Seonghwa insisted.

“Fine.” Mingi grunted. “I’ll get the car.”

***

None of them had ever seen Hongjoong’s base before, but it was apparent as they drove up that it had been victim to a large-scale attack. The building and the vehicles out front were all but burned to cinders, the ash soaked and muddy from the sprinklers. There were only a few small fires still blazing along taller wooden beams, but most of it had been snuffed.

“If anyone was here, they probably didn’t make it.” Mingi muttered as they all climbed out of the car, almost sounding regretful. Almost.

“No… I hear at least one heartbeat. Maybe a second but it’s… very slow. And distant.” Seonghwa replied, his voice so so soft as he listened intently. “There must be survivors.”

“Or it’s a trap.” Mingi grumbled.

“Wait by the car, then.” Seonghwa bit back. “San, with me.”

“Yessir!” San piped up in a too-serious tone, following him into the crumbling building.

Once inside, the two of them spread out, listening for the sound of beating hearts.

“There are two, for certain.” Seonghwa murmured as they moved further inside. “One is close, but one seems distant.”

“Yeah, it’s weird. It’s almost like it’s—ah!”

San’s sentence petered off into a yelp as the burned and waterlogged floor gave out beneath him, sending him careening downward into a pit of darkness.

Seonghwa sped over and grabbed for him, but he was a second too late. “San!”

Mingi ran over, joining Seonghwa at the mouth of the hole. “What happened?! San?”

“I’m all right!” San called back, dusting himself off with a grimace

“What do you see?” Seonghwa asked, loud enough that it echoed.

“It looks like there’s a huge basement down here.” San told him. “I’ll check around before I head back up. One of those heartbeats sounds closer now.”

“All right… but be careful. You don’t have any backup down there.” Mingi shouted.

“We’ll continue searching up here.” Seonghwa added before the both of them disappeared from his view.

San let out a sigh, trudging through the ash and muck toward the faintly-beating heart he could hear nearby. Once he got closer, the smell of blood hit him, pungent even amongst the smoldering wood. He scrunched up his nose and scanned the darkness, trying to find its source. And then he saw a pile of debris, a human leg pinned underneath it.

“Hello? Are you still alive down here?” San called out.

“Nng—think so.” Came the response, and the leg shifted just a little.

“I’ve got one of them!” San shouted, but from what he could hear from above, Seonghwa and Mingi were dealing with a similar situation. He crouched down, peering through the tangle of metal and rubble. He could just make out a man with fluffy brown hair and a sweet face. “Hey… don’t be scared, I’m a friend of Hongjoong’s. I’m here to help, we aren’t going to hurt you or anything.”

“D-didn’t look like you were gonna.” The man grunted with a chuckle, and his smile was bright despite the less-than-ideal circumstances.

“Oh. Guess I figured you’d be more of a bigoted asshole, like your hunter friend.” San murmured, lifting away one of the larger metal beams with ease and tossing it aside. “How many of you were there in this place?”

“Two.” He answered, looking panicked for a moment. “Jongho, he was u-upstairs—”

“It’s okay, sounds like my coven found your friend, and I can hear his heart beating.” San assured. “What’s your name?”

“Yunho.” He answered, voice strained. He had probably inhaled too much smoke. “Y-you?”

“I’m San. Don’t worry, I’ll get you out of here.”

“So you’re j-just gonna pretend like you don’t smell all this blood, huh? Don’t fake it on m-my account, I can tell it’s bad.”

San frowned. “Can you tell where you’re hurt?”

Yunho gave a dubious grunt. “It’s in my s-side, I think. The b-burns ruined my nerve endings so I can’t tell what it i-is exactly.”

San nodded. “If it’s… really bad. Do you want me to save you?”

“I c-can’t say I really want to be a vampire.” Yunho murmured, pausing for a long moment. “But I… r-really don’t wanna die.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” San replied softly. 

It took him several minutes to clear all the rubble by himself. When he removed the largest piece, he could see the strain on Yunho’s breathing visibly ease. He could also see, however, the source of his bleeding: a piece of half-melted rebar jutting through his side, still attached to the concrete underneath.

San hissed, grimacing. There was a lot of blood… he probably wouldn’t be conscious for much longer, and he definitely wouldn’t make it to a hospital.

“Would you… like the bad news or the  _ really _ bad news first?”

Yunho barked a mirthless laugh, shaking his head. “Just tell it to me straight.”

“You’ve lost too much blood. You won’t be awake for much longer. So I need your consent on this now… but. If I’m quick enough, my blood might be enough. I might not need to  _ turn  _ you.”

Yunho thought for a long, silent moment. Then, he swallowed. “Do whatever you have to do, but… if I can remain human, I’d be forever in your debt.”

“Nothing about a human is forever.” San replied in a morose tone before using his teeth to tear into the flesh of his own palm. Once the blood welled up, he pressed his hand against Yunho’s mouth, watching as it stained his chin vermillion.

***

It was hours before Hongjoong noticed his phone was missing.

He’d never in his life forgotten it anywhere… well. He’d  _ left  _ it places when he was too injured to think straight, even  _ dropped _ it while in pursuit of a running target… but he’d never just  _ forgotten  _ it when he was otherwise of sound body and mind. Seonghwa and his coven were doing things to his brain.

He’d spent the entire day going back over the places where the victims were taken. Sure enough, they were all within sight of certain buildings within the city. The CCTV footage from those buildings had consistently given them nothing; it always cut out just before they disappeared, or showed them walking off-screen but nothing after… but every one of the victims had disappeared near those buildings. In total, there were about a dozen of them, and on the surface, they appeared to be owned by different companies. As it turned out, they were merely  _ leased _ to other companies. They were all  _ owned _ by the same conglomerate, a Holdings enterprise owned by a wealthy—and ancient—vampire.

The problem was that Hongjoong had to do this entirely by the book. This guy would have plenty of security, plenty of legal protection… and until he had hard evidence, he couldn’t make his move. His theory was circumstantial at best.

Not to mention that he didn’t exactly have a motive, and there was still the concern of what Eden had told him.

He had to keep this out of the Bureau’s hands, for now.

Hongjoong decided to go out on a limb and try to check out the main Holdings headquarters downtown, to see if the boss himself was around or if he could find anything suspicious. Needless to say, he was turned away instantly by staff, and he was sure whatever chance there was that the vampire didn’t know he was onto him had evaporated. If he  _ was _ guilty, he knew now that a hunter was closing in on him.

He made to call Yunho, then, after leaving the building, just as the last streaks of sunlight were disappearing behind the horizon… and that was when he realized he did not have his phone.

He  _ could  _ make the long drive back to Seongnam, but that sounded like a pain. He would literally have to make a run for it after grabbing his phone or else he’d end up getting roped into more of the coven’s nighttime activities, he knew. Not that he didn’t enjoy himself, but… he had work to do. He couldn’t allow himself to keep indulging in such distractions, at least not  _ too  _ often.

Hongjoong instead decided to work on tracking a few more leads before heading back to his base. On the drive, he considered the merits of asking Seonghwa to bring his phone to him. The team was probably worried about him, too… they hadn’t heard from him in a while, and he’d never updated them on his investigation. So, he figured going back there was the best course of action.

Except, when he pulled up in front of his base, the entire building had been razed to the ground.

Hongjoong stumbled off of his bike, letting it drop haphazardly as panic seized in his chest.

“Oh my god… Yunho! Jongho!!” He screamed, bolting for the door. He halted, however, when he noticed a trail of blood leading away from the door. It stopped rather suddenly in the driveway, but both of their jeeps were torched. Someone  _ else  _ had driven them away… or else that wasn’t blood from either of his team members.

This was a warning, he knew. He was getting too close in his investigation and someone was onto him. There couldn’t be any other explanation.

He didn’t know what to do. He cursed himself for leaving his phone in Seongnam. He wanted to call Seonghwa, take him up on his offer for help no matter the time or reason, because maybe he could follow their scent or could tell by the blood trail whether they were dead or alive.

He had other safe houses in the city… but what was the point? 

He did the only thing he could think to do.

He headed for Seongnam.

The drive was torturously long… more so than usual for all his haste, and he broke more than a few laws getting there. By the time he pulled into that familiar gated drive, his heart was seconds away from pounding through his chest.

He at least managed to leave his bike on its kickstand this time as he parked it in his usual spot out front and made for the door, throwing himself at the ornate wood with all his weight behind it. His legs were trembling.

“Seonghwa-hyung!” Hongjoong shouted, only managing to pound on the door once before it swung open. He felt his panic dissipate just a little, but his distress was still evident as he moved inside quickly. “Thank fuck—hyung, my base, it was attacked and… my team, I don’t know if they were killed in there or if they’re missing… there was blood  _ everywhere _ ! I think I left my phone here and—”

“Hongjoong-ah, please, calm down. I know about your base, I was there.” Seonghwa quelled, closing the door behind him.

Hongjoong felt all the air leave his lungs in a rush. “You… you were there?”

“Your phone alerted us to an attack at your base. We didn’t know how to contact you so we went to ensure your team’s safety.” Seonghwa explained. “Your friends are upstairs.”

Hongjoong’s thought processes ground to a screeching halt as relief washed over him. “They’re here?! Right now? Are they…?”

“Try to calm down, Hongjoong-ah.” Seonghwa soothed. “Yes, they’re alive, and still human, but… we did have to make Yunho-ssi a familiar, with his consent. We aren’t sure if Jongho-ssi will recover without the need for it but…” He frowned. “He hasn’t woken yet.”

“Take me to them.”

Seonghwa led the hunter up the stairs, bringing him to the spare room they’d set them up in. Yunho was seated on a rather plush-looking settee, shirt raised up where he was checking the progress on his still-healing wound. San was sitting next to him, watching carefully. Mingi was sitting in a chair by the bed where Jongho was laid out, ice packs crowning his head and beneath his neck. Yeosang and Wooyoung stood off to one corner, watching with concerned expressions.

“Hyung! You made it back!” Yunho said, smiling brightly. There was something about it that knifed through Hongjoong’s heart.

“I did… thank god you guys are alive, I… what’s wrong with him? Do we know what’s wrong with him?” He asked, slowly approaching the bed where Jongho lay.

“There’s… a lot of swelling in his brain. It’s not immediately critical, but it won’t improve without treatment. At a human hospital, they would likely have to resort to difficult, invasive surgery.” Seonghwa explained. “That comes with its own host of potential complications. We didn’t want to make any rash decisions before you returned.”

“He hasn’t woken up so… the decision falls to you.” Yunho murmured, his smile dropping.

Seonghwa regarded him, questioning.

“I’m his next of kin, he doesn’t… he doesn’t have a family or anything.” Hongjoong said. “I’m his power of attorney, legally.”

Seonghwa nodded. “Then it is your decision to make.”

Hongjoong thought for a long moment, watching the shallow rise and fall of his protegé’s chest.

“I’m giving you permission on his behalf to treat him with your blood.”

“Are you certain?” Seonghwa asked. “He won’t resent you making the decision, will he?”

Hongjoong gave a manic sort of huff, throwing his arms up. “Will he? I don’t know. But I’m sure as fuck not going to let him lie in a catatonic state when one of you can save him. Yunho-yah?”

Yunho gestured ambivalently. “You’re a familiar, and it didn’t change you in a bad way. I accepted it as well. I don’t think that Jongho would resent you.”

Hongjoong nodded. “I agree. Do it.”

Seonghwa had to concede to that. He glanced over to the bed, waving a hand toward the boy. “Mingi.”

Mingi nodded, lifting Jongho’s head from its cradle of ice-packs with a gentle hand while he brought the other to his own mouth, stabbing a sharp fingernail through his tongue. He tipped the human’s mouth open with his thumb, pressing their lips together.

After a few seconds, he let his hand move lower, gingerly massaging at his esophagus through the skin to force the blood down his throat. It was an agonizing half-minute before Jongho sputtered and gulped, clutching at the vampire who was holding him steady. 

He seemed a little panicked, so Mingi cooed in a soft voice, “Easy, lamb, you’re all right.”

Jongho blinked up at him in confusion before taking stock of the room. Seeing that both Yunho and Hongjoong were there, he relaxed.

“Jongie, I’m sorry, you wouldn’t wake up. I had to ask them.” Hongjoong said, sounding truly regretful. “Yunho, too. You aren’t alone.”

“It’s fine, I’m not angry. Kind of fitting that we’re all familiars, huh?” Jongho replied with a laugh. He looked down, then, knocking on the cast on his leg. “Does that mean I won’t need this anymore?”

“Sure won’t.” Mingi told him with a bright smile, tugging the blanket away so he could take hold of the cast from both sides. He raked his nails down the length of it on either side before wrenching it off of him.

Jongho bent his leg as though nothing was ever wrong. “Man, sure beats physical therapy.”

“I’m glad for you. I’m glad you’re both alive.” Hongjoong said, and it was obvious from his tone it wasn’t  _ just _ that. “But the fucker who sent his goons after you… something’s gotta be done about him.”

“We have no base, hyung. No command center, ninety percent of your weapons were destroyed…” Yunho reasoned. “You can’t really think you can face him.”

“I’m gonna have to.”

“For now…” Seonghwa cut in, sensing an argument brewing. “You are all more than welcome to stay here. Mingi has an extensive computer setup I’m sure you will find useful, which I imagine he has no issue lending out.”

“Yeah, sure.” Mingi agreed easily.

“There is an entire wing of the garage which never sees much use, if you would like to set up your equipment there. Tell me what to order and I will have it brought in.” Seonghwa continued.

“Wait… what? You want me to set up a forge here?” Yunho asked, taken aback.

“You understand he builds weapons… to kill vampires.” Hongjoong said gravely.

“Not  _ us _ .” Seonghwa replied, adding a murmured, “Hopefully.”

“This isn’t a permanent situation.” Hongjoong added. “We’ll have a new base, it’ll just take… time. What then?”

“I can have all of it brought there later.” Seonghwa answered easily.

There was a beat, the hunter looking around as though he expected someone else to protest. When no one did, he spoke up.

“Hey.” Hongjoong mumbled, pulling Seonghwa toward the door and speaking in a low tone. “What is all this? Are you  _ that _ hung up on this ass or something? Because, overkill.”

The other vampires in the room had to hide their snorts of laughter, able to hear him despite the quiet tone.

Seonghwa managed to not look entirely affronted, more so appearing confused. He took the human by his shoulder and led him out of the room, not that it mattered. It was more for the appearance of privacy than anything else.

“No, Hongjoong-ah. I care for you a great deal… or did you believe I dragged my coven all the way out to your base while it was under attack, dragged them into  _ potential danger _ , because I enjoy  _ sleeping with you _ ?”

Hongjoong shrunk, grimacing. “No, it’s just. I… we… kill vampires. You know, I figured you could enjoy me like a… plaything, or something. A new toy. But not—”

“Kim Hongjoong.” Seonghwa hissed fiercely, seizing him by both his shoulders, then. “You are not a  _ plaything _ —gods, where did I go wrong that you could believe such?”

Hongjoong just stared at him blankly for a long moment. “I don’t know, probably somewhere between the fourth and fifth orgasms? Your amusement was palpable.”

“ _ Amusement _ .” Seonghwa repeated, sounding affronted, then. “I find enjoyment in bringing you pleasure. Perhaps you misread me—”

“Look, I don’t give a damn about any of that at this point, all right?” Hongjoong cut him off. “Just… forget I said anything. This is a waste of time.”

With that, he stormed back into the room, leaving Seonghwa to stare after him in confusion as he addressed his team.

“Yunho-yah, was only the main base attacked? Do you know the status on the safehouses?”

Yunho looked around, wide-eyed, like he was surprised to be put on the spot. “Uh… I’m not sure. I don’t think they were compromised? I’ll be honest, I was much more concerned about the basement caving in on top of me.”

Hongjoong frowned. “All right. I’ll go and check them out myself.”

Everyone else seemed to startle at that.

“Now? You’re going now?” Jongho balked. “But hyung-!”

“I’ve got caches of weapons all over.” Hongjoong said. “I’m gonna go grab what I can and track this fucker down before he gets the drop on us again. He knows I’m close, and it scares him. That’s why he did this.”

“Hongjoong-ah, that’s not a plan. I respect your skill as a hunter, but I think it would be foolish for you to go rushing in again like this. You didn’t even make contact with the vampire and he already managed to track down your base and raze it to the ground.  _ Please _ ,” Seonghwa implored, grabbing Hongjoong’s bicep gently as he tried to pass him. “Think this through.”

Hongjoong was so close to wrenching away, so close to spitting a curse and walking right out the door, but he could see the way Yunho and Jongho stared after him, imploring him not to go. Not without a solid plan. He let out a loud huff, looking down.

“Fine. We’ll do it your way. But no one’s been able to get to this guy. How are we supposed to manage it now?”

“Most of my research is backed up. I should be able to access it from here.” Yunho told him.

“And you’ve never had me looking for him.” Mingi piped up, standing and cracking his knuckles for show. “I’ve got a decent network and it sounds like you got pretty far with your investigations. Between the three of us, I think we can track him down.”

“You couldn’t even find the gang that nearly killed Wooyoungie.” San muttered petulantly.

“Hey! I linked a ton of attacks to them and narrowed down their hunting grounds, we just never managed to find their base. Not that it matters anymore.” Mingi argued. “And anyway—”

“That’s enough, Mingi.” Seonghwa cut him off gently. “You and Yunho-ssi should get to work on that data, if he is feeling up to it. I will also need a list of the supplies and equipment you will require to set up your forge here. In the meantime, I will take Hongjoong-ah to his safehouses to retrieve his weapons.”

“What?” Hongjoong’s head jerked up, then. “It’s… nearly sunrise.”

“Our vehicles are equipped with U/V protection. And seeing as your jeeps were victims of the attack on your base—and I assume you cannot carry all of your supplies back on your bike—you will need my assistance.”

“So what, you’re fine with us moving in and setting up shop but lending out your car is too much? Gotta babysit me along the way? While suffering through the daylight?” Hongjoong quipped.

“I don’t think it’s safe for you to go alone, impending sunrise or not.” Seonghwa admitted freely. “And beside that, I am a thousand years old. Vampire or not, I’ve seen far more sunrises than you ever will. I can manage a single day without sleep. I have suffered through far worse.”

Hongjoong frowned, but he didn’t argue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies again for the delay on this chapter. It was initially part of the previous chapter, but as you can tell, the length got a little out of hand. I’m taking a small break from this fic to finish the bodyguard AU and my Ateez fic exchange entry but I’ll return once those are done.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the huge delay on this chapter. I was working on several other projects (including my exchange fic which still isn’t done, I’m a clown) and then I went to KCon NY to see our boys! There shouldn’t be THIS much of a wait for the next chapter but I won’t say for certain because I don’t want to be a liar. I also had to split this one which is on-brand for me but I’ve come to accept this part of me.

Seonghwa’s gaze strayed from the road as the sun rose over the horizon, lingering on the reflection of it in his rear-view mirror.

Having missed out on centuries of sunrises, he was fond of the ones he was able to enjoy since thanks to technological advancements.

Hongjoong sat silently in the passenger’s seat, head resting on one hand as he gazed out the window. The other tapped jittery patterns into his knee with his fingertips. He was clearly still on edge.

There was a certain tension in the air, though Seonghwa sensed that Hongjoong’s anger was not directed towards him. He could understand that need for vengeance bubbling under the surface, that visceral reaction to seeing his team—his friends—come to harm.

At the end of the day, though, they only had a hunch who was responsible. A hunch was not enough for a sanction.

Seonghwa had a feeling that Hongjoong was not going to sit idly by and wait for the bureaucratic red tape to be handled before seeking out the vampire responsible, though.

“Turn here.” Hongjoong murmured, and Seonghwa hummed in acknowledgement before doing so.

“You have a safehouse in Seongnam.” It was almost a question.

“Yeah, just a waypoint. It’s not all that far from your place, actually. Once we clean it out, we’ll hit the two I have in Seoul and go from there.” Hongjoong explained.

Seonghwa nodded. After another moment of silence, he spoke again. “The person responsible will be brought to justice. Whether by your hand, or someone else’s… he will pay. One day.”

“I don’t need your kindly assurances.” Hongjoong muttered, grimacing. “I just need that bastard to die.”

Seonghwa pressed his lips together. He wasn’t certain Hongjoong was in any mood to talk further.

The car fell silent again, until some time later when Hongjoong directed him to turn down a hidden dirt road. They only drove another kilometer or so before they came across a rather unassuming looking cabin. Seonghwa pulled up close to the porch, putting the car in park.

“Shall I wait for you here, then?”

Hongjoong didn’t answer, just opened the door forcefully, nudging it hard with his shoulder. A strip of sunlight streamed into the interior, falling across the center console and gear shift. Seonghwa pulled his hand away just as the flesh on the back of his hand sizzled, a tendril of something like smoke curling up from his knuckles. He balled his fist and set it on his thigh as the skin knit itself back together slowly.

If Hongjoong noticed, he did not acknowledge it or apologize. Not that Seonghwa expected such.

Seonghwa sat patiently while Hongjoong loaded up the car. He had already folded the back seats down to give him as much room as possible. Most of what he was tossing into the vehicle were gun cases, small ammo crates and what appeared to be some repair and communication tools. He strapped them down with some bungees so they wouldn’t slide around before climbing back into the cab.

“That’s everything. You should take the 100 to 61, should let us avoid the most traffic.”

Seonghwa gave a soft huff of a laugh, shifting the car into drive. “I don’t believe we will hit much traffic before six in the morning, but if it is your preferred route…”

“Just drive.” Hongjoong grunted, and Seonghwa merely inclined his head agreeably before doing just that.

It troubled Seonghwa that Hongjoong was still so upset, but he was glad he had come with him. He did not want to think of the kind of trouble the hunter would have gotten up to without an escort. He might’ve gone after the suspect vampire, guns blazing, without sufficient evidence… and that wouldn’t help any of them.

The drive was long and largely silent. Seonghwa tried to initiate conversation only once more about a half-hour in, and Hongjoong had responded by turning on the radio.

Seonghwa figured it was better just to leave him be, after that.

About twenty minutes outside of Seoul, Seonghwa realized Hongjoong had fallen asleep. He was propped against the window uncomfortably, but his expression was lax and untroubled, his breathing deep and even. Seonghwa turned the radio down, leaving him to rest. He assumed Hongjoong hadn’t gotten sleep in almost twenty-four hours, so it stood to reason that he would be worn out.

Once they reached the outer city limits, Seonghwa pulled into a vampire-owned station to refill his gas tank. They were built to accommodate his kind, entirely shielded from the sun. He was careful with the door as to not disturb Hongjoong, and when he climbed back into the driver’s seat after refueling, the hunter was still passed out.

Seonghwa hesitated to wake him, giving him just a few more moments of peace. He lost time just staring at him, watching the soft rise and fall of his chest… until Hongjoong snuffled a bit and Seonghwa realized he had been still for nearly ten minutes.

He cleared his throat, setting a gentle hand on the other’s shoulder and stroking his thumb over the curve of it in lieu of shaking him. He spoke softly, not wanting to startle him.

“Hongjoong-ah?”

Hongjoong jolted awake regardless, coughing and blinking and trying to get his bearings.

“Huh? What? I wasn’t sleeping I was… thinking.”

“I see.” Seonghwa responded, no inflection in his tone.

“Mmnh… where are we? Why’d you let me nod off?” He grumbled, apparently giving up on pretending to have not been sleeping as he scrubbed at his own face.

“I didn’t see the harm in it.” Seonghwa told him softly. “But I will need your guidance from here. We’ve nearly reached the city.”

Hongjoong just grunted, motioning vaguely to the left side of the map on the gps screen in the console. “We can hit the one on the outskirts first, I guess, then swing by the warehouse downtown.”

“At your leisure.” Seonghwa confirmed with a nod, pulling out onto the main road once more.

Hongjoong didn’t say anything for a long while and neither did Seonghwa. After some time, Hongjoong leaned over and tapped the coordinates of the nearest safehouse into the gps. Seonghwa regarded the route before his eyes found the road again.

It wasn’t long before they made their way to the location. This one was less of a cabin and more of just a small house, situated well outside any other neighborhoods. Seonghwa stayed put as Hongjoong loaded the trunk with more of the same as before, careful to avoid the sunlight as the door was opened.

Once that location was cleared out, Hongjoong typed the coordinates for the Seoul warehouse into the gps.

“If luck is on our side, we can avoid the worst of the city traffic, but. It’s kind of in the center of everything.” Hongjoong murmured.

“Sometimes the easiest place to lay low and disappear is one which is incredibly populated.” Seonghwa responded, understanding why he’d chosen the location. That, and… it wasn’t far from where their main base had been.

Seonghwa could not help but frown at the memory of it smoldering in the ashes.

Thanks to the early hour, traffic was somewhat kind, and they managed to make good time getting into the city. Getting out would surely be another story entirely, but that was a problem for later.

Hongjoong jumped out in front of the warehouse and pulled open a panel to the side of it, revealing a keypad. He entered a code, scanned his fingerprint, and after a confirming beep, he was able to slide the door open. He motioned for Seonghwa to pull in, then shut the door behind him.

The warehouse was dark, all the windows blacked out. Seonghwa was surprised, as it had seemed all of the other locations had specifically been selected for their openness, which afforded safety in the daylight hours. He supposed that wasn’t much of an option in the city, though.

Seonghwa climbed out of the car, giving a cursory glance around the place. There were far more weapons here than there had been at the previous two locations, and there even seemed to be a small forge set up where Yunho could do his work.

Seonghwa pointed to it, inclining his head. “Would you like to take that with us? For your weaponsmith?”

Hongjoong’s lips twisted up. “That setup easily weighs five-hundred kilos.”

Seonghwa raised an eyebrow at him, crossing the room and lifting it with ease. “Perhaps it escaped your notice until now… but I am, in fact, a vampire.”

Hongjoong stared at him blankly. “You’ve really mastered dry humor, huh? I know  _ you  _ can lift it. Can the car take it?”

“The tires are upgraded. It should be perfectly fine.” Seonghwa insisted.

“Won’t be able to fit much else once it’s in, though.” Hongjoong said.

“We can utilize the racks on the roof for your longer gun cases. And I don’t need to be able to see out the back window, so we can stack them inside as well.” Seonghwa explained, giving a teasing smile. “I have a knack for puzzles and Tetris is the only video game I am not abysmal at; I am sure we can manage it.”

Hongjoong just shrugged, waving toward the car as if granting him permission.

Seonghwa worked diligently to rearrange everything in the trunk and move some of the gun cases to the roof while Hongjoong gathered everything else he needed. He seemed to mainly focus on armor and equipment rather than weapons, since he’d retrieved plenty of those already.

Hongjoong set the boxes of armor behind the car for Seonghwa to deal with and went to do one last round. He grabbed one more long weapon case and tossed it up onto the racks on the roof, though he couldn’t quite reach high enough to secure the bungee. He struggled with it for at least a minute before he felt Seonghwa walk up behind him.

“Here, let me.”

“I’ve got it.” Hongjoong snapped, elbowing him out of the way. It wouldn’t have made the vampire budge, but Seonghwa allowed it, moving back.

After a bit of a struggle, Hongjoong still couldn’t manage it, and stalked off in a huff to go retrieve something else. Seonghwa subtly went behind him and secured the strap, making sure Hongjoong’s back was turned when he found he was grinning to himself in fond amusement.

Hongjoong was still so ruled by his pride. Seonghwa supposed It was inevitable when he had so often been forced to rely only upon himself.

The hunter came back with a duffel that appeared mostly empty, tossing it onto the floor of the passenger’s seat before returning to the trunk to check everything over.

He blatantly ignored the accursed strap.

“Is that everything?” Seonghwa asked, not bringing it up.

“Yeah… my other safehouses are further out in the countryside, or in different cities. Not really worth the trek.”

Seonghwa frowned. “If you need things from them, I would not protest—”

“It’s fine.” Hongjoong cut him off, testy.

“Very well.” Seonghwa replied easily. “I suppose you only have so many hands. More weapons might be excessive.”

“Nothing’s too excessive for this fucker.” Hongjoong muttered darkly. “I’m going to kill him so thoroughly that it’ll be like he never existed at all.”

“If anyone could do it, it would be you.” Seonghwa agreed, fond.

There was a beat, neither of them speaking until Hongjoong let out a rough sigh.

“I just… I fucking hate this. Sitting on my hands until we have enough to go after this guy? Give me an address and a description and let me end it.”

He grunted in irritation, kicking the back tire of the Levante.

“I know that it is difficult. I find your restraint to be nothing less than admirable, Hongjoong-ah. Admittedly I am… not so certain I would be able to hold off as you have, were I in your position. Had it been my coven that was attacked, nearly killed… I can’t say whether I would be able to rein in my anger.”

Hongjoong snorted bitterly. “Yeah, I’ve seen firsthand how you get when you’re protecting them. And I seem to recall you claimed you were pulling punches with me.”

“Had I wanted you dead, you would have been.” Seonghwa replied, his tone flat. “But that is neither here nor there. I am rather fond of you, so of course my actions were tempered with mercy. This vampire… whoever is responsible for these disappearances, for these attacks… if indeed they are one in the same culprit, he deserves no such mercy.”

Hongjoong’s mouth was a grim line, but he nodded.

A heavy silence fell between them before Seonghwa broke it.

“Is there anything else you need? Anything at all?”

“That vampire’s head on a spike.” Hongjoong responded flatly.

“Would that I could arrange that for you… were I any kind of fighter.” Seonghwa replied sympathetically.

Hongjoong made a face. “You were a soldier, weren’t you? Something like a dozen wars under your belt, right?”

Seonghwa’s jaw tightened, and he looked away. “Having been a soldier… does not make me a fighter, or a hunter of any great caliber. Most especially of my own kind. I spent much of my life…  _ bloated _ as you say it is, avoiding conflict. I would not hesitate to protect my own, but… I am not to be relied upon, I think, in the dregs of battle. I would much rather fall upon the sword to  _ prevent _ a war than to fight in it, no matter the cause.”

Hongjoong crossed his arms, squinting at the other. “So what you’re saying is, you’ll help with the logistics, but fuck no if it comes down to actually helping me take this guy down, in the physical sense? Cool. I guess it’s just me and Jongho against what might be a whole  _ coven _ of these bastards.”

“Hongjoong-ah, I will gladly assist you against this enemy. I will fight by your side. I only wish for you to understand that I may not be as much help as you might hope for. Against another vampire, well. You’ve seen how I fared… the first time we met. Had you not been there—”

“You’d be a head shorter and very fucking dead.” Hongjoong finished.

“Quite right.”

“I wouldn’t have been far behind you.” Hongjoong admitted quietly. “It was a team effort.”

“Also true.” Seonghwa replied with a genial grin.

Hongjoong sighed, shaking his head. “I wish you’d you stop that.”

“Stop what?” Seonghwa asked genuinely.

“Being so…” Hongjoong grunted, like he didn’t know how to finish his thought.

“Agreeable?”

Hongjoong shrugged. “Before, I was being a jerk to you, and… I don’t know. You’re not even gonna hold it against me? You’re too…”

“Patient with you?” Seonghwa guessed. Hongjoong grimaced, and the vampire laughed softly. “Hongjoong-ah… I have lived for over a thousand years. Had I not developed a considerable amount of patience by now, surely I would have been driven mad.”

“Well, yeah, but. I don’t know. Usually my team calls me out when I’m being a petulant asshole. You shouldn’t let me… treat you like that.” Hongjoong mumbled, eyes finding the floor.

“Mm. You aren’t used to your vitriol being met calmly.”

“No. And especially not since you could…” Hongjoong swallowed, glancing up. “You know, you could snap me in two if you really wanted to.”

“Perish the thought.” Seonghwa huffed, shaking his head as though he was scandalized. He saw the way Hongjoong’s shoulders stiffened a little, then, remembering the last time he’d said those words. It had been a much more intimate setting… he had been buried to the hilt inside Yeosang, his belt wrapped tightly around his arms in a farce of control.

Oh.

Had it not held the exact same meaning? Had Seonghwa not been assuring the both of them he would never  _ truly _ hurt them? It dawned on him that may have been exactly where Hongjoong’s mind had wandered.

Seonghwa cocked his head, curious. “Or is it… not really about what I  _ would _ do?”

Hongjoong shivered. He had asked something similar before… but it was a heady thing to hear that question directed toward  _ him,  _ now.

“I… I just… sometimes, you know… I can’t shut my brain off. For better or worse. But when I’m with your coven… when I’m with  _ you…” _

“All the world falls away.” Seonghwa murmured, understanding. He closed the distance between them, bringing his hand up to cradle Hongjoong’s neck, his thumb pressing up under his jaw. “It is much the same for me. A thousand years worth of memories rattling around in this mind of mine, and so few things quell the noise.”

Hongjoong had gone eerily still at the touch, spine rigid, as though he might get scolded for moving a single millimeter out of place. Seonghwa’s face was impassive, deliberately so, the grip of his fingers tightening infinitesimally.

“Let me help you forget the world for just a little while.” Seonghwa said, his voice  _ so _ low.

Hongjoong conceded with a breathless nod.

He could not say exactly what he expected, but it was not for his chest to be pressed against the open back of the vehicle, hands belted behind his back while Seonghwa fucked him open with nothing but his tongue, over and over and over again.

It was torturous, because his tongue was  _ sinful,  _ something inhuman about the amount of pressure and precision he could put behind each stroke. But it was still not the same as the firm strength of fingers, or the hard press of a cock, and every orgasm that Seonghwa pulled from him with his tongue was slow-building and placid, as though he had been gently coaxed toward it. There was none of the fierce strength and rough handling he was used to. This was something else entirely.

Hongjoong lost count of just how many times he came… likely four or five, at his best guess. He shook through every orgasm, and by the last, he couldn’t stop trembling. His mind was blissfully blank, his brain a hazy mess of thoughts that could not possibly go beyond himself and Seonghwa and that wicked, wicked tongue.

He vaguely recalled being released from the belt, Seonghwa cleaning him up, checking him over and redressing him before pressing a sweet kiss to his mouth. Hongjoong just grunted, but he hoped it sounded like an appreciative one.

It took a little while before the world faded back into focus. Seonghwa had cleaned up the absolute mess he’d made of the Levante, too, but seemed to notice immediately when Hongjoong came back to himself. He halted, regarding him with a gentle, open gaze.

“Better?”

“Yeah, um. Thanks.” Hongjoong coughed, scratching at his chin. “You know, for that.”

Seonghwa waved a dismissive hand. “I am happy to give you anything that you need.”

“Just kinda feels like I’m… using you, y’know?”

“Hongjoong-ah… I have been alive for a very long time. I can assure you that I have been used for far worse. It is my privilege to be able to bring you any measure of comfort and solace.”

Hongjoong’s mouth twisted up a little, and he may have meant to protest, but Seonghwa held his chin, stroking a thumb softly over the curve of his jaw. His voice was low when he spoke.

“Besides… one could argue that I am using you, too… in some ways.”

Hongjoong raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? S’this the part where you wax poetic about how I make you feel  _ alive _ or something?”

“Nothing so cliché as that.” Seonghwa replied, his voice still so impossibly low. “But you  _ do  _ stir feelings in this cold, still heart of mine that I have only seldom felt in my thousand years of existence.”

Hongjoong thought all the air might have been stolen from his lungs hearing those words. Somehow, the way Seonghwa had described it was far more profound. He could not even fathom a response to something so ardently romantic.

Seonghwa seemed to sense he did not know how to respond, so he pulled back with a small smile. “In any case, we should head back soon. The others will be expecting our return, and you need rest.”

“You’re the one who’s up past your bedtime.” Hongjoong quipped in a wry tone, raising an eyebrow at the vampire and lifting his chin a little in challenge.

Seonghwa huffed a laugh. “Perhaps, but when is the last time  _ you _ slept? And do not count the short nap in the car.”

Hongjoong frowned. “Fair point.”

He waited until Seonghwa was in the car before sliding open the warehouse door. Once he’d pulled out, he sealed it again before climbing into the car.

“It’s a long drive back. Try to find some rest if you can.” Seonghwa told him.

Hongjoong grumbled a bit in protest, but he adjusted the seat back so it was reclining a bit more regardless.

“Guess I’ll have to start doing more than just napping throughout the day soon… if we’re gonna be living with vampires we might just want to adjust to your nocturnal schedule for now.”

“You shouldn’t feel pressured to do so.” Seonghwa replied, putting the car in drive again. “I’m sure we could manage.”

“Yunho and Mingi are supposed to be working on all those data transfers, and our investigations will go smoother if everyone is awake to coordinate and bounce ideas off of. I think we should just make the shift.” Hongjoong reasoned, leaning against the door and trying to get comfortable. “I’ll talk to the guys about it when we get back.”

“Very well.” Seonghwa conceded, pulling out onto the main road. “For now, sleep.”

Hongjoong might’ve meant to argue on principle, but he felt as though he blinked and he was suddenly out like a light.

***

Back at their old base, an operation like this would’ve been pandemonium.

Now, though, it seemed everything was running like a well-oiled machine. Wooyoung and Yeosang had gone to pore over all the books in the library that may have held some insight into their ancient vampire suspect, Seonghwa had disappeared to check his office for any Accords records on him or his coven, Jongho was converting one of the bedrooms into a temporary armory with San’s help and Hongjoong sat in the security room balancing his laptop on his thighs, monitoring the connections while Yunho and Mingi settled the computer networks. 

He could picture how this would have gone back at the base… the three of them crammed too-close to Yunho’s desktop, watching as he tried to hack into Bureau databases, Jongho eventually trying to serve them some kind of meal because it had been too fucking long since they’d eaten, all while Hongjoong was chomping at the bit to just fucking  _ end _ this guy.

He still was—chomping at the bit, that was, all too eager to remove this fucker’s head from his shoulders—but it felt good to see progress. It felt like something was getting done.

Yunho sighed suddenly, shoving his chair away from the desk.

“Okay, so. I accessed our old servers through a back door and copied the files onto your harddrives just in case the backups become corrupted. But it might take me a little while to authenticate the new IP for forum access… it keeps claiming I’m using the wrong login even though I know it’s correct.”

Mingi perked up. “Oh. You’ll need to run it through a proxy server. It’s rejecting the IP because I already have an account on the forums.”

Yunho blinked.  _ “You _ frequent the hunter forums?”

“Part of my job as security here for the coven. We have just as much a right to know when there are dangerous vampires on the loose.” Mingi explained. “Ever since the incident with the mad vampire, Seonghwa has been having me keep tabs on hunter activity.”

“That makes sense.” Yunho agreed, though his expression was somewhat troubled. “A little shady if you were keeping an eye out for sanctions upon your own coven members, though. It would give you quite the head start.”

“If a sanction ever goes out on any of us, you’ll know something’s wrong with the system.” Mingi told him, his tone serious.

Yunho had to concede to that. Every vampire he’d met so far in the house had been more than kind.

Yunho didn’t deal with vampires face-to-face much in his corner of the business. His entire life’s work centered around building weapons with which Hongjoong could more effectively kill them. Of course, he knew that not all vampires were horrible, or evil, and that he only heard about the absolute worst of them because of his line of work. Regardless, it had still taken him by surprise when San had so carefully helped him into their car, then doted on him for the entire ride back to Seongnam. He had continued monitoring his condition, asking Seonghwa over and over if his heartbeat sounded all right to him, if he thought he might have been too late to save him without having to turn him.

Seonghwa, while driving, had calmly assured San that Yunho’s heart sounded just fine, walking him through what to look and listen for. All the while his concerned expression had been visible in the rear view mirror as he consistently glanced back at the row behind them. Mingi had sat with Jongho laid out across the seats, head in his lap and cradling his neck so it would not move when the car jostled. Seonghwa hadn’t been able to fully discern Jongho’s condition, and it had clearly worried him.

Now, Mingi was helping him set up in their expansive computer room, having told him to treat it as though it were his own.

And of course, Seonghwa had continued to say the same of their home.

Yunho wasn’t sure if it was his particular fondness for Hongjoong (and that had been easy enough to see whenever they were in a room together, Seonghwa’s subdued but fervent gaze upon him not remotely subtle) or if they were simply hospitable. Regardless, he’d never expected to be so kindly received by vampires.

It had taken him a little while to lock down names and faces for everyone, as well as their age rankings within the coven. He learned Wooyoung was the youngest—newly turned—which was surprising, because that meant he had been the fledgling that Hongjoong had seen kill seven men the night he became a familiar. He seemed far too sweet to ever intentionally harm someone, but after Yunho was given some context, he understood. Still, it was hard to picture him as Hongjoong had seen him that night, bloodied and surrounded by human corpses… when he was giggling like a hyena as San chased him through the house over some petty disagreement.

Jongho seemed to have the hardest time adjusting. He wasn’t very comfortable around new people under the best of circumstances and it didn’t help that San was a little  _ too  _ eager to welcome them, as was his nature. After a few quelling chats from Seonghwa, though, San mellowed out toward the young hunter and managed to look at him without appearing as though he was eager to devour him or something.

Yunho had no such luck himself.

Admittedly, he thought the attention San paid him was… flattering. Mingi was also more than kind, helpful with the computer networks and even just assisting him with navigating the huge house. Several of the vampires also assisted him with setting up his forge in the garage; they moved all of the cars into one wing and even built some shelving and racks for him. Seonghwa ensured the ventilation was adequate before giving him the go-ahead to get to work. It would take a while before the forge itself was ready, as melting the metal took some time, but he got it started and set up his work station as best he could. It took him hours, and if it weren’t for his phone, he’d have had no idea of the time. It was easy to lose track of it down there in a windowless room, intently focused on his work.

Yunho eventually emerged from the garage and breathed a sigh of relief once inside the main part of the house. It was sweltering by his forge, so the climate-controlled air was glorious. He got himself a bottled water from the kitchen, then walked by the living room to check on everyone else.

It was only three of the vampires milling around, not exactly relaxing from what he could tell. They seemed engrossed in something, though he couldn’t tell exactly what.

Seeing them all well-dressed and put together as they always were made him feel a little out of place. He felt disgusting, his too-tight white shirt (borrowed from Mingi, as his replacement wardrobe hadn’t come in yet) was soaked through with sweat and smeared with oil and dirt. His face and arms weren’t much better off, splotched with soot, and he wiped his forehead on his sleeve self-consciously before downing some of the water.

“Holy fuck.” San hissed, looking at Wooyoung while pointedly tilting his head toward Yunho. “Are you seeing this? How is that okay?”

Wooyoung shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you, man.”

Yeosang grimaced. “Really? You find sweat and grime attractive?”

San stared at him, incredulous, for a solid three seconds. “A-are you fucking blind? How is that  _ not _ the hottest thing you’ve ever seen?”

Yeosang just made a noise of disgust. Seonghwa walked in, then, on his way to the kitchen, and eyed them all curiously.

San balked. “What, you’ve never had sweet, deliciously humid, sticky-wet summer sex?”

“Yeosang was a prim and proper prince before I came along and corrupted him.” Seonghwa said in amusement, cradling Yeosang’s jaw lovingly as he passed by. “Had he ever laid with anyone before becoming a vampire, it would have been by candlelight in sleep clothing so intricate it would have been considered modest streetwear by today’s standards.”

“You poor thing.” San sympathized.

Seonghwa’s gaze tracked over to the human and he clicked his tongue regretfully. “Yunho, darling, do you need more ventilation down there? You look as though you are sweltering.”

Yunho had pulled up the bottom of his shirt to scrub his face, revealing the tan expanse of his flat abdomen. San let out something like a strangled whimper, but it was drowned out by Yunho’s sweet laugh, paired with a charming smile.

“Oh, no, it’s all right. It’s always gonna be hot around the forge no matter what. Think this one might actually be cooler than one back at our old base.”

“If you give him another fan I will rip your limbs off.” San gritted out, giving Seonghwa a  _ look. _

“Very well, then. If you’re sure.” Seonghwa replied genially before leaning down and smirking toothily at his fledgling. “Sannie, my dearest, I would  _ love  _ to see you try. Now do attempt to behave.”

He condescendingly patted the other’s dimpled cheek before taking his leave, likely retrieving something for Hongjoong.

Yunho hadn’t heard any of that, cocking his head curiously. San smiled sweetly at his cluelessness.

“Hey, uh, you guys know where the rest of my crew got up to?”

“I have no earthly idea but I will gladly help you track them down.” San piped up, overly kind.

Yunho just beamed and thanked him, clueless.

Wooyoung and Yeosang exchanged a look. Those two were a disaster waiting to happen.

***

It took them a few days to get fully acclimated to the nocturnal schedule. The biggest adjustment was getting used to being around the coven in their downtime. The humans felt a little out of place at first, even Hongjoong, when the vampires would call it a night on the research front and split off to find other ways to occupy their time. Relaxing. Killing time.

So much of vampire life seemed to involve occupying time, endless as it was.

Yunho spent a lot of time down in his forge, but he caught glimpses of the coven living through what he imagined was their regular day-to-day… or rather, night-to-night. Yeosang and Wooyoung seemed to mostly keep to themselves, usually in the library or living room if they were in one of the common areas. When the others gathered together, though, they were always there, curled up on the couch next to San or Mingi or Seonghwa.

Yunho had let Mingi take point on the digital research side of things, so he saw him in the security room most of the time, typing away. When he did step away, it was to play video games or swim laps with San. Upon discovering there was a pool, Jongho had worked up the courage to ask if it was all right for him to use it as well. Seonghwa had looked almost concerned at his hesitance, setting a hand on the boy’s shoulder and looking  _ so  _ concerned when he flinched slightly.

“Jongho-ssi, this is not… what is that movie with the singing dishware and the princess? The Disney one?”

“Beauty and the Beast.” San had piped up helpfully from nearby.

“Right. Thank you.” Seonghwa said. “This is not…  _ Beauty and the Beast.  _ There are no castles or enchanted roses or forbidden wings. You are welcome to any and all parts of our home. Please, treat it as your own.”

Jongho seemed hesitant—because honestly, who wouldn’t be—but he eventually nodded under the vampire’s earnest gaze.

Seonghwa was truly a patriarch in all ways. There was something about him that came across as… not so much  _ fatherly,  _ but respect-worthy, like an older brother who’d raised you your entire life, or a college professor you felt comfortable going to with your problems. He was there for them in all ways, and the humans fell under his wing as well, in that respect. He started having their staff deliver groceries and so, Jongho took up the job of cooking for all the humans. After that, things felt a little more homey.

It was still an adjustment, though. There was one instance when Yunho and Jongho had been wandering the halls, discussing the new prototype the former was still perfecting—having had to start from scratch, frustratingly—when they happened across the music room. A beautiful, haunting melody was floating softly through the open doors, and the two of them followed their curiosity down the hall. Seonghwa was seated at a grand piano, Yeosang across from him in an antique chair while he strummed at a pipa. Wooyoung was between them in the center of the open floor, dancing.

The music wasn’t familiar enough that either of the humans recognized it, but they watched and listened, mesmerized. Wooyoung moved with such fluidity and grace, losing himself in the melody. It was entrancing.

It was several long minutes before the music faded out and Wooyoung’s dance ended. He stood up straight and smiled expectantly.

“That was lovely, Wooyoung.” Seonghwa said, crossing the distance between them to press a tender kiss to his forehead. “We shall have to compose for you more often.”

Wooyoung beamed, his face positively lighting up. “It’s nicer dancing to something you wrote. I can make it more my own.”

Yeosang had set his own instrument aside, approaching Wooyoung and pulling him against his chest from behind in a gentle hug. He nuzzled at his neck, only murmuring, “Beautiful.”

Something went a little hazy in Wooyoung’s eyes and Seonghwa leaned in again, kissing him on the lips, that time. It suddenly felt as though they were encroaching upon an incredibly intimate moment.

Yunho and Jongho exchanged a look before booking it down the hall.

***

Familiarity came with each passing day, though. In more ways than one.

Just as the humans grew used to living with the vampires, the vampires, too, grew accustomed to their presence.

Seonghwa, especially, had been attentive to their every need, whether they were aware of it or not. Jongho had been feeling off all night, with a throbbing headache creeping up from the back of his neck that was growing worse by the hour. They’d been staying with the vampires for just under a week, and he hadn’t even realized it. He threw himself down on the couch with a grunt of a sigh and Seonghwa looked over at him with concern.

“Jongho-ssi, are you all right?”

Everyone else was in the common room, too, and he suddenly felt seven pairs of eyes on him. He wanted to shrink into the floor under the scrutiny.

“M’fine, s’just a headache.” He insisted, though his jaw was aching so badly that it had even hurt to slur out just those few words.

“I believe it’s a fair bit more than that.” Seonghwa countered, obviously concerned. “When did it start?”

“I don’t know… it woke me up? Kinda earlier than I wanted to wake up.” Jongho answered.

Seonghwa moved to kneel in front of him at the couch, lifting his hands. “May I?”

Jongho just shrugged. He didn’t think it was a big deal, but he wasn’t going to argue, either.

Seonghwa’s palms gently cradled his neck and the base of his skull, presumably to feel for swelling. He frowned as he pressed his fingertips into his nape and heard the boy hiss.

“You should continue taking Mingi’s blood on a weekly basis. I believe whatever injury you sustained in the base attack was more serious than we could have known.”

“What?” Jongho startled. “But… I always heard that most injuries could be healed in just one treatment. You only need the ongoing if it’s degenerative or continuous, like… cancer or something.”

“Or inconvenient metal shards.” Hongjoong muttered. Yunho nodded in agreement. He was dealing with his own, so he knew well enough.

“It is not always immediately obvious what will need ongoing treatment. There is likely permanent damage to your spinal column or even the brain stem.” Seonghwa told him, tipping his head gently. At Jongho’s horrified look, he shook his head. “Oh, there is no need to panic, darling boy. Mingi will be more attentive to your needs in the future.”

“Yeah, of course. I’m so sorry, I didn’t know if you would keep needing it. You can always come to me if you’re hurting, okay?” Mingi offered, holding out a hand. When Jongho hesitated, Mingi gave him a look. “If you don’t come to me, I’ll just start dogging you about it, so…”

Seonghwa let Jongho go, softly nudging him toward the other. The hunter went, settling onto the couch on Mingi’s opposite side. Seonghwa cast a glance around the room and everyone suddenly busied themselves with other conversations so that Mingi and Jongho could speak without the latter feeling scrutinized.

Seonghwa returned to his spot at Hongjoong’s side, quietly asking if he was feeling all right himself. He insisted he was, and the two got into a small row about hunter pride which Hongjoong, of course, ended up losing. In the meantime, Jongho had accepted a small amount of blood from Mingi’s palm and felt his headache lift within seconds, much to his relief.

“Hunters are so proud. I’m glad this one’s mine.” San murmured, wrapping his arms around Yunho and pressing his cheek against his chest. “He’s so agreeable and big and warm.”

Yunho laughed, returning the embrace and nuzzling his nose against San’s hair. “You know, hyung, for all the time you spent with them, you never mentioned that Seonghwa’s coven was so nice.”

“He’s only buttering you up because he wants your dick.” Hongjoong quipped. “Don’t let the sweet-dimpled smile fool you. Nine times out of the ten I’ve seen him, he’s been happily stuffed with cock at both ends.”

“So to be clear, you’re  _ confirming _ your involvement in vampire orgies.” Jongho piped up just as San stuck his tongue out at Hongjoong, scrunching up his nose.

“Oh, was there ever a doubt about those? It’s common in the culture.” Yeosang added too-helpfully, like he reveled in the fact that his candor would irritate Hongjoong.

“This conversation is over.” Hongjoong grumbled. 

“I can be nice just because you seem sweet.” San said to Yunho, looking up at him through his eyelashes. “But I would definitely love it if you let me suck you off, then ride you ‘til you come.”

Yunho choked, turning bright red. Across the room, Jongho choked, too, and Hongjoong let out a long-suffering sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Seonghwa cleared his throat. “San… perhaps consider exhibiting a  _ little _ bit more restraint, given that we have guests?”

San sighed, rolling his eyes. “If I can’t openly be myself in my own home then what’s the point?”

“Somehow, you will manage to survive.” Yeosang muttered wryly.

San pouted, letting out a little disappointed whine and curling his fingers into the sleeve of Yunho’s sweater.

Yunho cleared his throat, leaning down by San’s ear. His cheeks and ears were still beet-red, but his words were sure, whispered against the vampire’s temple.

San perked up, positively beaming, his dimples on full display. He chirped a happy, “Okay!”, then contentedly leaned against the human’s side once more.

Hongjoong didn’t ask. Hongjoong didn’t want to fucking know.

***

As the days went on, the research effort, while efficient, was slow-going. This vampire that Hongjoong had a hunch about was apparently impossible to track down. Finding the buildings he potentially owned through that Holdings company was easy enough, but they couldn’t so much as pin down a name for the vampire who owned them.

“If it is who I believe it is… he has gone by many names over the centuries.” Seonghwa told him, holding open two separate, large tomes, one on each knee. “He may have been a lord, or someone of high social stature, at the very least, during much of the Joseon Era. But to keep the secret of his immortality, the records show a collection of conflicting nomenclatures.”

“He signed the Accords, didn’t he?” Hongjoong asked.

Seonghwa nodded. “He did. With the Bureau, since I have known him, he has always used the moniker, ‘The Ancient’.”

“I imagine that’s what’s making it so difficult to find him.” Yunho said. “Hard to search without a little more to go on.”

“Can you at least confirm this is the same guy that owns the Holdings enterprise that leases all the buildings I mapped out for you?” Hongjoong asked.

On the far wall, there was a detailed map of Seoul littered with pins and post-its. Pins for reported disappearances, post-its on the buildings owned by the Holdings company he’d traced them all back to. The pins were clustered suspiciously close to the post-its, which was why Hongjoong was so  _ sure _ about this guy.

“I’ve only been able to confirm what you already figured out: it’s owned by a wealthy, ancient vampire, and no one seems to know his name.” Yunho answered. “I think, circumstantially, it holds up, but—” 

“Not enough for a sanction.” Hongjoong finished.

“Not enough for a sanction.” Yunho repeated in agreement. “I’m not so sure a sanction would even help in this case, though. No one knows who this guy is or where he lives. Seonghwa-ssi can’t even get a clear record of his coven.”

“If he has a coven, it is a small one.” Seonghwa murmured. “Or… a more concerning possibility looms.”

Hongjoong perked up at that. “I’m listening.”

Seonghwa closed the two tomes on his lap, setting them aside. “I have been giving it some thought, and it is worth considering that some covens’ patriarchs may be nothing more than figureheads. The Ancient may be their true leader, and he is amassing a larger network of vampires than is allowed by the law.”

“You know the coven patriarchs better than anyone. Does it seem feasible?” Yunho asked.

“Not for the leaders I know, no. Hakyeon would never compromise his coven or the Accords, nor would Hyunwoo. I am not familiar enough with the other clans to say for certain, and I have only kept in close contact with those around Seoul and Seongnam. There are hundreds of other covens I have no real insight into.”

“That’s… daunting.” Yunho murmured.

“I’ll say this much; the Coven of Blacklight would never take orders from a man.” Hongjoong replied. “So you can count them out of it. Who does that leave?”

“That I am aware of?” Seonghwa pressed his lips together thoughtfully. “The Coven of Power, which may seem a likely suspect, but I truly doubt Sooman would sign his ilk over to taking orders from someone else.”

“Seems like your connections don’t really help us if they’re all either familial like your coven or against being subjugated or undermined.” Hongjoong said.

“You are the one whose profession sends you after rogue, murderous vampires.” Seonghwa responded. “Tell me, what affiliations do those vampires usually have?”

“As you said; rogue. Most of them don’t have covens. They might seek out a coven for safety, but by and large, the covens will sell out their bad apples to protect the bunch. Power is the only clan I’ve known not to shy away from protecting their own no matter what they’ve done.”

“So then perhaps my theory is disproved.” Seonghwa conceded. “Unless he specifically has chosen small clans, or clans far from us, geographically, which rather conflicts with my initial reasoning for considering such.”

Hongjoong regarded him for a moment, curious. “I have to ask… what made you think of something like that in the first place?”

“He… has no record of a coven at all. Not even a single other vampire. Perhaps he surrounds himself with familiars, but… it is not the same. Speaking from experience.” Seonghwa was looking at the far wall, but his gaze was a thousand years away. “A vampire alone in this world… is a melancholy prospect. It is a terrible, lonely existence.”

Hongjoong frowned, swallowing.

“I did it, for the first nine-hundred years or so of my existence. Before I knew that others could be turned. Before I knew there were already others like me. I… would not wish it upon my greatest enemy.” Seonghwa continued, blinking and refocusing his gaze on the hunter. “Time and solitude, an eternity of isolation… that would breed a woeful, piteous creature. That, or… someone very, very dangerous.”

Now that he thought about it, Hongjoong had never considered Seonghwa’s past as a real and quantifiable thing. He had always viewed it in the abstract; simply the notion of an existence beyond that of generations of humans. It was hard to fathom, existing for  _ that  _ long. It was hard to fathom  _ buildings  _ that had existed as long; traditions, artifacts, trees, but a  _ person…  _ a real, sentient person who had lived through so many centuries and held the memories of them just as he held memories of his own childhood… it was hard to wrap his mind around. He had never realized until that moment that he hadn’t ever really let himself  _ think _ about it, really consider the fact that Seonghwa was not just  _ old _ but that he had  _ lived through _ and  _ experienced _ all of that time. All of that history.

It was easy to listen to Seonghwa prattle on about war, wars Hongjoong could only claim to know through boring history lessons and textbooks and documentaries that probably put him to sleep. But it was another thing entirely to understand that he had  _ lived  _ them, had fought in them. He had watched countless humans fall around him, had watched time go by and forget them, then watched them move onto the next war.

For the first time, Hongjoong felt he may have been on the fringes of understanding just what it meant that Seonghwa had lived as long as he had.

To his right, Yunho cleared his throat uneasily. “Let’s operate on the assumption that this… Ancient, that he owns the Holdings enterprise as Hongjoong suspects. Seonghwa-ssi… what do you know about him?”

“He… vehemently opposed the Accords, at first.” Seonghwa answered. “It wasn’t until the North American representatives finally acquiesced that he realized he would never win over the other clans. He conceded, and signed, but he was not happy about it. He claimed the Accords were too oppressive, insultingly so.”

“He  _ did  _ sign them, though? Eventually?” Hongjoong asked.

“Of course. He would have been subject to charges of treason otherwise. Given his age, he was selected as one of the representatives of all vampirekind on the world stage, before the UN. He and I were the only such representatives from Korea. The… Koreas.” Seonghwa corrected himself. “My apologies… it was but one country for nearly my entire life. It is still difficult to acknowledge the line humans have so arbitrarily drawn between the north and south.”

“Fair enough.” Hongjoong shrugged. “So, he thought the Accords were oppressive.”

“They  _ are _ oppressive. That is entirely the point of them.” Seonghwa replied. “We did not  _ want  _ to subject ourselves to such regulations, to such scrutiny… but we sacrificed certain freedoms to make humans… comfortable. Truthfully, I hoped the day would come that the Accords would be revisited and amended. But after witnessing the last decade or so… I am not so certain that time is drawing any nearer.”

“Guess I never really thought of it like that.” Yunho murmured.

“Regardless, that is neither here nor there. The true concern is that we are looking at an ancient vampire who has, potentially, spent most of his life alone, has considerable means and feels unfairly subjugated by the current laws regulating vampires. I believe this speaks to his character well enough.” Seonghwa said. “He may not be in control of a network of covens, as I fear… but if he is responsible for these continued disappearances, that is still plenty concerning.”

“I don’t disagree. But I think it’s… worth keeping your theory in the back of our minds.” Hongjoong reasoned. “Better to be prepared for the worst.”

Seonghwa could not help but agree.

***

While the research effort into the ancient vampire suspect did monopolize much of their time, it seemed they had reached a bit of an impasse.

Yunho and Hongjoong both agreed that desperate times called for desperate measures.

Despite Eden’s warnings to keep the Bureau in the dark about their investigation, they both felt that their only recourse was to seek out other hunters for information.

Yunho put out his feelers on the forums, asking for any information on the second vampire representative of South Korea for the Accords. He worded it more as a curiosity than anything else, even mentioning that everyone knew Seonghwa, who had a very public persona around the time of the Accords being ratified. He casually slipped in that he believed this ‘Ancient’ owned a certain Holdings enterprise and a quarter of the high-rises in Seoul, but that no one even seemed to know his name.

Every comment was as unhelpful as the last. No seemed to know anything for certain.

Yunho and Hongjoong had hoped for a break in the case, and were disheartened by the failure. They were in a miserable mood all day until Jongho surprised them with their favorite meal.

Even the vampires gathered around the dining table with them, sipping on their glasses of blood—and wine, in the case of Seonghwa—while they chatted. The mood lightened considerably, and before they knew it, they were laughing with everyone, having managed to forget their sour moods altogether. Jongho and Hongjoong were having some kind of chopstick battle while San plastered himself to Yunho’s side and whined about him always working so late into the morning at his forge. Yunho looked a little embarrassed when he apologized, claiming he was still working on a prototype for Hongjoong that he was hoping to get finished for him soon.

Mingi eventually inserted himself into the chopstick battle, all while Yeosang and Wooyoung sat across from them watching like they were a bunch of lunatics. Seonghwa, however, observed them all with the sort of fondness that didn’t seem possible for a creature absent a beating heart. When Hongjoong caught a glimpse of his expression, he felt it settle warmly in his own chest.

After dinner, everyone seemed to go their separate ways. Hongjoong had meandered to the living room, expecting to find more than just Seonghwa. But it was just him alone, stacking a few errant books on a side table and sliding a stray Nintendo Switch back into its cradle with perhaps a bit of difficulty. His face had screwed up a little, mouth scrunched and brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to discern what angle the device needed to be placed into its home. When the charging indicator lit up, he let out a soft little victorious sound before looking up and catching Hongjoong’s eyes. He smiled at him in acknowledgement… a simple thing. It should not have meant anything significant.

But Hongjoong returned it tenfold. He let out a soft laugh and grinned brightly, utterly amused by the eldest vampire’s aversion to the gaming tech. It lit up his entire face, his eyes crinkling at the corners until they were nothing but crescent moons. It was radiant.

It occurred to Seonghwa that this was the first time he had ever seen Hongjoong smile.

A smirk, surely, had graced his features before in Seonghwa’s presence. A wry grin, or a mirthless laugh, certainly—but never a  _ smile. _

Something visceral and warm stirred in his gut… more than fondness, more than affection. Such a glorious, fleeting feeling he’d only brushed shoulders with once before.

It had been decades prior. He stood at the window of a highrise building in Seoul, next to an enterprising vampire businessman. It was five a.m. on a clear spring morning.

At ten past, the first tendrils of sunlight had begun to break past the horizon, cutting through the haze of clouds to paint the skyline molten orange beneath a sea of blue. That blue bled into pink and stained the sky in purple pastel, and no video, no artist’s rendering could ever have done it justice, could never have made his gut lurch the way it did, then.

He had laid his palm against the window, the glass the vampire had specifically designed to block all UV light, and trembled in awe. Thanks to him, Seonghwa had seen the sunrise again for the first time in centuries.

He’d had them installed into the mansion that very week.

Seeing Hongjoong smile was like watching the light of dawn break across Seoul for the first time in a thousand years.

“Seonghwa-hyung?”

He realized he must have been staring, eerily still, for too long judging by the concern in Hongjoong’s voice. Hongjoong, who was directly in front of him, now, staring up at him in confusion.

Seonghwa offered him another smile, blinking away the haze of memory, eyes glassy.

“Yes, sorry, I… must have left you for a moment.”

“Where’d you go?”

“1988.” Seonghwa replied, waving away his concern. “Ancient history.”

“Yeah, definitely ancient. Pre-internet. And pre-Kim Hongjoong. How did you ever survive?” Hongjoong teased.

“I haven’t the faintest idea.” Seonghwa drawled, grinning.

Hongjoong snorted and pushed him playfully. 

“The sun will be rising soon.” Seonghwa commented, looking toward the foyer. “I should go ensure that my fledglings are at least attempting to sleep.”

“Yeah, I should check on my crew, too. The adjustment’s been especially hard for Yunho.” Hongjoong agreed.

Seonghwa huffed a soft laugh. “Do you ever wonder if this is what it is like to have children? To be a parent?”

Hongjoong snorted. “All the damn time.”

Seonghwa grinned in amusement, and they walked together up the stairs before parting ways.

Hongjoong dipped into the bedroom Jongho had claimed. It was the one which had been their makeshift infirmary when they first arrived, and still had the excess furniture in it. Other than the armored vest in the wingback chair and the shotgun next to the nightstand, there wasn’t much Jongho had changed about it. 

“Hey hyung.” Jongho greeted as he fussed with his pillows. “What’s up?”

“Just making sure the kids are put to bed.” Hongjoong teased, earning him a  _ look.  _  “Where’s Yunho?”

“I think he’s, uh…” Jongho coughed, swallowing. “...rooming with San tonight.”

Hongjoong blinked. “Oh.”

“...yeah.”

“You gonna be okay in here all by yourself?” Hongjoong asked.

“What? Yeah, yeah… actually, Yunho-hyung snores sometimes so. I’ll probably sleep better.” Jongho answered. “Besides, Seonghwa-ssi gave us all our own rooms anyhow. He just stayed in mine the first few nights because he said he was used to having me in the room. New-place jitters or something, I guess.”

“All right.” Hongjoong replied dubiously. He sounded a little unsure. “You know, if you wanted, just about anyone—”

“I’m good, thanks.” Jongho cut him off with a manic sort of waving gesture. “Everyone’s been super welcoming. It’s not, uh. I don’t know. I’m just not a really… physical person.”

Hongjoong shrugged. “Okay. As long as you don’t feel left out or anything. Because if San gets even one whiff of that I feel like he’ll probably dive-bomb right into your bed.”

Jongho barked a laugh at that. “Good to know.”

“All right, in any case… sleep well.” Hongjoong said, offering a wave as he headed out the door. He stopped by his own bedroom to change into sleep clothes, then dipped into the newly-finished armory, snapping up a shotgun before heading to Seonghwa’s room.

The eldest vampire was clearly preparing for bed, wrapped up in a black, silken robe which resembled a modernized magoja. The hunter tapped his knuckles against the door jamb twice, grinning as he casually leaned on it.

“Oh, Hongjoong-ah.” He smiled genially, as though he hadn’t been able to discern far before he’d looked up that it was him by his other senses alone. Perhaps he thought it made him appear more human to the other.

“Mind if I join you tonight—er, today?”

“Of course not. Please, come in.” Seonghwa replied easily, something hidden there behind his calm, indulgent smile that suggested he was not as calm as he pretended to be. His gaze tracked down to the gun in Hongjoong’s hand, and one eyebrow rose in question.

“I usually sleep with one next to me. S’that okay?”

Seonghwa nodded, motioning toward the nightstand. “Certainly.”

Hongjoong saw the way the other watched as he rested the gun against the nightstand, stock-up for the quickest access.

“Sure you’re all right with this? It’s just… an old habit.”

Seonghwa nodded. “If it makes you more comfortable.”

“It’s not… for you. I just mean, you know. My base was attacked. Never know what could happen.”

Seonghwa offered him a small smile. “No matter your reasons, it is fine.”

“Guess I just pegged you as someone who despises weapons anywhere near you and your ilk.”

“You are my ilk, too.” Seonghwa countered. “You, your team… most especially while you are staying here.”

Hongjoong chewed on his lip. He wasn’t sure why it felt nice to hear that. Maybe because he felt that his friends were safer here, too, and that brought him comfort.

He didn’t say anything, just climbed into the bed. It still felt overwhelmingly massive, and it seemed weird to be tucked up into one corner of it with Seonghwa, so he remained a little closer to the middle. Seonghwa watched him curiously, but there was something guarded in his expression, as though he was not sure what it was that Hongjoong wanted from him and did not know how best to broach the subject without offending him.

Hongjoong rolled his eyes. Seonghwa was always a paragon of confidence, so it was a little amusing to see him out of his depth. He huffed softly and grabbed Seonghwa’s hand, pulling him closer. He went, easy as anything, lying down at his side and watching his face carefully for any indication as to what he wanted.

They just laid there in the quiet dark for a long moment, neither making a move. Hongjoong opened his mouth to say something when a loud-but-sweet moan cut through the wall next to them. It sounded like Yunho. San’s voice followed, crooning something completely filthy at him.

Hongjoong flushed bright red up to his ears. “Well, I learned something new about Yunho today.”

Seonghwa chuckled. “It seems he feels right at home with us.”

“What is it with you vampires? Do you have like, hypnotic pheromones or something?” Hongjoong huffed.

Seonghwa laughed, shaking his head. “No… that and the belief we could mind-control humans were just part of all the Christian propaganda. We are just…  _ sweet-talkers. _ And many people are intrigued by—and attracted to—the unknown, the unexplored… creatures of the night.”

Hongjoong rolled his eyes. “You make it sound so indecent… but you said yourself it’s common for familiars to be involved with vampires and their covens.”

“Common, yes. In our culture.” Seonghwa replied. “That doesn’t stop humans from believing it is licentious and amoral.”

“Mm, now there’s some sweet talk.  _ Licentious.” _ Hongjoong drawled, teasing. “So lewd.”

“Ah, yes… like verbal foreplay.” Seonghwa deadpanned.

Hongjoong shrugged. “Maybe.”

Seonghwa chuckled again, shaking his head. “You either enjoy taunting me, or you are attracted to the most peculiar things.”

Hongjoong made a face. “You calling me weird? Is the _thousand-year-old, polyamorous_ _vampire Dominant_ really going to kinkshame me? That’s the hill you’re gonna die on?”

Seonghwa raised an eyebrow, smirking wryly as he leaned over the hunter, caging him between his arms. “Of course not. I’d be remiss to deny you your pleasures. I did promise them to you in every iteration, did I not?”

Hongjoong couldn’t do more than grunt in response, feeling as though all that bluster and confidence he’d had just moments ago had been drained right out of him. Seonghwa just had that effect on him.

“As you know well enough by now… it is anathema to my very nature to deny you anything.” Seonghwa continued, leaning down to press a kiss under the other’s jaw. “Tell me, then… is it that particular word you enjoyed hearing me say, or do you appreciate archaic verbiage in general?”

“Fuck, just… the way you  _ talk  _ sometimes…” Hongjoong hissed, fisting a hand into the front of Seonghwa’s robe. “Like you stepped out of a goddamn Joseon Era romantic drama.”

Seonghwa huffed a laugh against the other’s cheek, nipping at the cut of his jaw. “I was born in the Goryeo Era, actually… but no one writes dramas set in that time. Perhaps because Korea hadn’t quite come into its obsession with fanciful hats just yet. I imagine it makes for less exciting costuming.”

Hongjoong snorted, shaking his head. “You’re ridiculous.”

“All for the privilege of seeing you smile.” Seonghwa admitted with a fond grin.

Hongjoong stared up at him for a long moment, swatting at him in what barely passed as irritation. “Just shut up and put your hands on me you fucking sap.”

“Very well.” Seonghwa said, raising an eyebrow as though he were being challenged. A smirk played at his lips as he shifted his grip to divest Hongjoong of his clothing, starting with his flannel pajama pants. They, along with his shirt and boxers, ended up on the floor somewhere across the room.

Seonghwa did exactly as Hongjoong had asked, running his hands over every newly-exposed bit of flesh, dipping down to kiss and nip and suck teasingly along his thighs, his stomach, his sides, his collarbone. By the time the vampire reached his neck, Hongjoong was writhing and panting under him, letting out strained little puffs of breath in a staccato rhythm.

Seonghwa was benevolent but merciless, his tongue working in rough, broad strokes over the planes of his chest. He paid attention to nearly every inch of him, worshipping his body with his teeth and lips and tongue. He left sweet little red-and-purple marks in his wake, but only for a moment. It had been some days since Hongjoong had taken his blood, and so, the marks faded much slower. Seonghwa reveled in them for the little time that they remained visible.

Hongjoong’s cock was hard and red and leaking against his stomach, but Seonghwa hadn’t paid it any mind. It was torturous, the way his hands would skirt by the vee of his hips only to settle upon his waist, holding him still while he attacked his neck and collarbones with soft nips and rough kisses. It was driving him wild.

Seonghwa paid extra attention to the slope of his neck, the sweet curve where it met his shoulder. His teeth worried at the skin, nibbling teasingly before pressing a soothing kiss over the very same spot. Hongjoong was shaking, writhing and whimpering, his hips desperately kicking up for some kind of friction.

Seonghwa did not give it. He only continued to work his mouth across the jut of his adam’s apple before giving the same attention to the opposite side of his neck.

“Mmh… ah—! Jeez, y-you hungry tonight or something?”

“Not particularly, no.” Seonghwa murmured against his jugular before nipping sweetly at the skin again. “I simply enjoy your reactions to this.”

Hongjoong shivered, his pulse throbbing a little and causing his cock to twitch. It still hadn’t been touched. He thought he must really have been out of his mind when his next words tumbled out unbidden and breathless.

“G-god, just do it, Seonghwa-hyung, just bite me,  _ fuck.”  _

Seonghwa regarded him, curious and more than a little surprised. His lips trailed upward under his jaw until he could run his tongue over the shell of his ear. “I don’t believe you truly want that. You have always been so adamantly opposed.”

“I know what I fucking want.” Hongjoong snapped in irritation. “You once told me it feels good. I trust you.”

Seonghwa stilled… it was only for a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. When he moved again, it was to nuzzle his nose against Hongjoong’s neck in smooth, upward strokes. “Are you sure?”

“Just  _ do it.  _ Want you to.” Hongjoong assured, tone a little manic as he squirmed on the bed, body begging for more contact.

“Easy…” Seonghwa soothed, pressing one palm against his hip to keep it pinned down against the mattress. “If you wish for me to stop, only say so.”

“You’d have to start first.” Hongjoong quipped back impatiently.

Seonghwa huffed fondly, shaking his head. He nibbled sweetly under his jaw again, teasing enough that it had Hongjoong writhing once more. When he flicked his tongue out against his pulse, running the flat of it over the curve of his neck, Hongjoong let out a desperate, keening noise.

He gasped out something that may have been another complaint had the words been given enough time to fully formulate. Instead, Seonghwa sank his fangs into his neck, latching hard enough that it sent a jolt of pleasure through Hongjoong’s entire body, electric heat coursing across the tendons and down along his spine. It tore a moan out of him, his hand snapping up to fist into Seonghwa’s hair  _ hard. _

Seonghwa let out a low sound that rumbled deep in his chest with satisfaction. Hongjoong knew well enough that his blood tasted particularly good to the vampire, but he had not expected it would feel  _ this _ good for  _ him.  _ It felt as though his whole body was singing with pleasure, the feeling flaring brighter whenever Seonghwa held faster, drank deeper.

Hongjoong’s legs thrashed, molten heat roiling in his gut. He was babbling, and in his own mind it seemed like the words were scrambled and incoherent but Seonghwa seemed to know just what he wanted. He wrapped a hand around both of their cocks, finding his own through the open slit of his robe. He only managing to stroke two or three times before Hongjoong was shaking and coming with a visceral, screaming sob. Seonghwa groaned, teeth gripping a little tighter. That just made Hongjoong jolt and shudder, still in the heat of his orgasm, and Seonghwa joined him, coming with a muffled snarl.

After a long moment, Seonghwa extracted himself from Hongjoong’s neck, lapping gently over the bite to clear away the blood that eked out. He licked his own lips, but he was certain to not have wasted even a single drop. He hummed in contentment as the warmth of it settled within him… he truly did taste like no one else Seonghwa had ever fed from.

Leaning back, Seonghwa bit his own tongue before dipping down again to kiss Hongjoong, letting the other suck the taste of it off until the tiny wounds on his neck had fully closed up. Seonghwa didn’t stop kissing him, though, first just sweet and languid and open-mouthed, but eventually his lips trailed down over his jaw and throat and clavicle. Hongjoong was still trembling, chest heaving, glistening with sweat and come. He looked disheveled and ruined and  _ human  _ in the best possible way. 

Seonghwa thought he looked gorgeous like that, committing the sight of Hongjoong beneath him to memory.

***

It was not often that Seonghwa felt warm when he slept.

Even tangled up under the sheets with the entirety of his coven, they never brought warmth… as was the nature of vampirism. But Hongjoong’s warmth felt as a furnace, head tucked up under his chin and hands resting comfortably against his chest, legs entwined with his own.

It had been such a long time since had last slept—truly  _ slept— _ with a human. He’d forgotten the feeling.

He wasn’t sure at first what woke him… some concerning sound on the periphery of his senses, perhaps. A second later, though, there was a loud crash like shattering glass, and suddenly the warmth he was feeling wasn’t pleasant at all but searing and painful. Seonghwa bolted up and opened his eyes only to be assaulted by the bright light of the sun pouring in from the now-broken window, the blackout curtains having burned away to nothing. He let out an involuntary howl of pain, bringing an arm up to shield his face. The skin began to sizzle and flake away within seconds.

_ “Seonghwa—!”  _ Hongjoong had startled awake just a fraction of a second later, diving onto the vampire and pinning him down against the sheets, using his own body as a shield against the sun.

The proximity alarms began blaring distantly from the intercoms, and there was another crash in the next room over. He could hear San shriek in pain, and he looked up at Hongjoong, panicked and horrified, his beautiful face marred with burns down his entire left cheek.

“Are we under attack? Th-the others!”

Hongjoong glanced around quickly, grabbing the duvet and throwing it over Seonghwa. “I’ll take care of it. Stay hidden!”

Seonghwa hadn’t even managed to voice a protest before Hongjoong was leaping out of bed, pulling on his clothes and snapping up the shotgun he’d left by the nightstand.

He moved out into the hall, shouting loudly. “Jongho! Armor up! Defensive actions, now!”

“10-4!” Jongho called back from a few doors down, emerging from his bedroom with his tactical vest over his pajamas, gun in hand.

Seonghwa made it out of his room with the duvet covering what his robe did not, dropping it once he snapped the door shut. “The others. Where are my—”

“Hyung!” Yunho cried out, emerging from the room next door. He had a distinctly person-shaped bundle of sheets in his arms, cradled like something precious, and San’s face could barely be seen peeking out next to the human’s shoulder as he approached them. “H-he was badly hurt… the sun—”

“Get him and the rest of the coven further indoors. Somewhere without windows, but make sure they won’t be cornered.”

“The cellar. There are hidden pathways underground which lead away from the mansion in the case that we need to evacuate.” Seonghwa told them. His attention was drawn down the hall when Wooyoung and Yeosang appeared from the latter’s room.

They weren’t injured or wrapped up in anything—Yeosang’s room was on the opposite side of the hall, the window facing another side of the house. Perhaps the assaulters didn’t have them surrounded. The two of them only appeared as though they’d hastily thrown on clothes before investigating the alarms.

“Wooyoung, Yeosang… have you seen Mingi?” Seonghwa glanced around frantically; Mingi’s door was still closed.

They shook their heads, Wooyoung speaking. “Think he slept alone last night.”

Seonghwa felt dread cloying in his gut. “Oh g—”

“Don’t panic, I’m already in the security room.” Mingi’s voice came over the mansion’s intercoms. “There’s an armored truck, black, no decals or logos. I spot four tangos in masks and body armor, they’ve got modified grenade launchers it looks like.”

“Probably what they used to take out the windows.” Jongho surmised.

There was another crash down the hall, and everyone flinched.

“Get them to safety, now.” Hongjoong barked at Yunho, who nodded and held San closer as he and the others made for the cellar.

Hongjoong watched them go for a moment before he spoke again. “Mingi, what about you?”

“No windows in here, I’ll be fine. I’ll be your eyes. They’re not moving any closer.”

“All right… wait.” Hongjoong frowned. “You said there’s only four of them?”

“Copy.” Mingi confirmed. “They might still have a driver in the cab, but otherwise the van’s emptied out.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Hongjoong murmured, looking to Jongho. “Why would you send  _ four _ men after  _ five  _ vampires, especially if you knew there were two hunters on the premises?”

“Maybe this isn’t an execution.” Jongho suggested ominously. “Maybe it’s a warning.”

There were a few more distant crashes as Yunho and the vampires, sans Mingi, made for the stairs. The entrance to the cellar was tucked into the floor just next to them, and thankfully, the foyer did not have any windows.

Seonghwa pulled back the cellar door, letting Yunho enter first with San before ushering Yeosang and Wooyoung down. Only once they had reached safety did he join them, pulling the door shut behind them.

San whimpered in pain as Yunho knelt, resting him on his lap. Seonghwa approached in concern, looking him over.

“Sannie, here, let me see.” Seonghwa cooed, gently peeling away the blanket. He couldn’t help but hiss upon seeing the damage. He hadn’t been wearing any clothes—still wasn’t—and likely hadn’t been under the sheets, either, given how much of his body was covered in burns.

Yunho chewed guiltily on his bottom lip. “This is my fault. I’m such a heavy sleeper that it took me a bit to get my bearings and cover him up.”

“You shouldn’t blame yourself.” Wooyoung murmured, watching with concern from Yeosang’s arms.

“Hurts?” Seonghwa asked. San whimpered and nodded. The elder tore open his own wrist and pressed it to San’s lips, letting him drink from it. “This will help with the pain, but he needs human blood to heal. This is a lot of damage for such a young vampire to heal from on his own.”

Yunho pulled the collar of his shirt aside, easy as anything.

Seonghwa frowned. “You don’t need to. We should have some stored along the escape routes, though I can’t be certain if it’s been replaced recently…”

“No, just. Let me. San saved my life, it’s the least I could do.” Yunho insisted. 

After a short pause, Seonghwa conceded, helping turn San in Yunho’s arms with his face resting against his neck. He rubbed gingerly at his back through the sheet, voice soothing. “Just go easy, Sannie. Yunho-ssi has never done this before.”

San mumbled something incoherent before leaning up and gently sinking his teeth into Yunho’s neck.

***

“Jongho might be onto something.”

Mingi’s voice could be heard over the intercoms as the two hunters made their way to the room they’d set up all their weapons in to grab something with a bit more range.

“How do you mean?” Hongjoong asked as he snapped up his favorite modified M14.

“I mean, these bastards are turning tail. I don’t think they’re here to kill a damn thing.” Mingi told them.

Hongjoong blinked, letting that process before turning and breaking into a run for the front door.

“Hyung, wait up!” Jongho called, bolting after him.

“We can’t let these fucks get away.” Hongjoong snapped, rounding the corner so fast he ran into the wall, then taking the stairs three at a time. 

“It’s too late.” Mingi told him, but he didn’t let that stop him. Hongjoong tore through the door just as the truck was pulling away.

He leveled his gun and fired, but the bullets plinked uselessly off of the armored metal side of the vehicle. He cursed before lowering his weapon, kicking the door in frustration.

Jongho was at his side a moment later, watching as the truck disappeared into the distance, along with any chance of a lead on just who had attacked them.

“Fuck!” Hongjoong snarled, eyes trailing over to where he parked his bike. “Maybe I could catch up to them—”

“And do what? Their vehicle is armored. It’s not like we can take it out.” Jongho reasoned. “It’s over, hyung. I know it… it sucks, but… that’s the truth of it.”

Hongjoong sighed, grip tight on his gun in anger. After a long moment he finally conceded, heading back inside.

“Get with Mingi and prep some clips from the security tapes, I want to look them over for any clues. I’m gonna check on the others.”

“Right.” Jongho nodded, bolting for the security room.

Hongjoong knelt in front of the cellar door and knocked twice before he pulled it open, peeking inside. “Everyone all right down there?”

“San has been better, but he’ll be fine, thanks to Yunho-ssi.” Seonghwa told him. The damaged skin along his cheek and neck had already repaired itself. “Have they gone? I heard Mingi say…”

“Yes, they took off. Don’t think they were here to kill us, just scare us.” Hongjoong said, holding out a hand. Despite that he did not need it, Seonghwa took it, letting the other pull him up the steps.

The others followed suit. San was still cradled in Yunho’s arms, though he looked considerably better. His expression was a bit woozy, though, as he was a bit drunk on Seonghwa’s ancient blood.

“Yunho and I need to speak with you.” Hongjoong said to Seonghwa.

The vampire’s brow furrowed in concern. “All right… Yeosang, Wooyoung… would you see to it that San gets some rest in your room? And, once you have, please contact the glass company to schedule repairs?”

“Of course.” Yeosang assured, taking San from Yunho’s arms, though his gaze was suspicious and trained upon Hongjoong. Once the two of them had disappeared up the stairs with San, Seonghwa looked to the humans.

“You believe you know what triggered the attack.” He said knowingly. Hongjoong nodded, looking down guiltily.

“It was our stupidity. We… posted on the hunter forums looking for information on the Ancient. He must have access to them, or has someone feeding him the information. I don’t know how he tracked us back here, but if Eden-hyung had figured out I was your familiar through other hunters, I can only assume word’s gotten around that we are staying here, too.”

“There are cameras everywhere in this country. No one can so much as sneeze without anyone with the right access knowing about it.” Seonghwa replied somewhat bitterly.

Yunho’s eyes were glassy, his shoulders trembling as he spoke. “We’re sorry, we didn’t… we never thought it would come to this. It’s our fault San was—”

“Please, do not blame yourselves.” Seonghwa insisted, waving dismissively with a shake of his head. “I understand that your leads had run dry. You had no further recourse.”

“We didn’t even  _ think _ about what it could mean… Hongjoong-hyung had gotten close before and they leveled his base for it. What if they’d done worse here?” Yunho sniffled, wiping his face.

“We were lucky, that is true. They must not have had any intention of killing us… which is not surprising. Vampires do not take killing their own kind lightly. Perhaps this was only meant to make us question whether it is worth pursuing our investigations further.” Seonghwa tilted his head toward Yunho, setting his hands on both of his shoulders. “Yunho-ssi, darling, please… do not guilt yourself. This vampire must be stopped. I do not blame you for doing what you felt must be done.”

“But San—” Yunho sniveled.

“San will be fine. You are welcome to go and check on him later. For now, why don’t you see if you can close off the windows for us? Perhaps with some sheets? I do believe there are some spare curtains in the hall closet from the last time I replaced them.” Seonghwa gave him an earnest look, offering a kind, if melancholy grin.

“Y-yeah, okay, I’ll do that. I can do that.” Yunho replied, eager to help in any way he could. When Seonghwa nodded at him, he bowed slightly before heading for the stairs.

Hongjoong stood there silently for a moment, gaze appearing to be unfocused in the middle-distance. But he was looking at Seonghwa, at his wrist, what small strip of skin was exposed, then his neck, and his cheek. The skin wasn’t even so much as pink anymore, just smooth and pale as alabaster as always.

“Hongjoong-ah?”

The hunter blinked, meeting Seonghwa’s eyes. He let out a trembling breath, taking the vampire’s hand into both his own. “I’m just… not used to seeing you vulnerable.”

Seonghwa gave him a pained smile. “Powerful but not invincible. It is easy to forget, in a world that has accommodated us with sun-proofed fortresses, that it can so effortlessly kill us.”

Hongjoong’s grip tightened. One hand trailed up to push the vampire’s sleeve to his elbow, thumb skirting over the creamy, flawless skin. He couldn’t get the sight of the ruined, smoldering flesh from his mind, no matter how long he stared.

“If I asked, would you have the windows sealed up?”

“No.” Seonghwa answered softly, his free hand coming up to cup Hongjoong’s jaw. “Despite that it is inherently dangerous to my kind, I find I am quite fond of the sunrise.”

“What if… they come back? What if they don’t stop? What if they bring more? What if they aren’t just issuing a warning next time?” Hongjoong asked, his voice hollow.

“It does not matter how many they send against us.” Seonghwa said, his thumb stroking softly over the other’s cheek… counterpoint to his hard tone, his harsh words. “The sun could rend every bit of flesh from my ancient bones, but I would still see to it that every one of them met a gruesome end before it could reduce me to ash.”

“Thought you weren’t any kind of fighter.” Hongjoong countered.

“For my coven, I would be.” Seonghwa told him. “For you, I would be.”

Hongjoong’s grip tightened again and he tugged, pulling until Seonghwa had leaned down into his space. Seonghwa tilted his head curiously, but Hongjoong just reeled him in until their lips touched, until he could wrap his fingers around the vampire’s neck and haul him closer, kissing him slow and sweet and  _ desperate. _

Seonghwa did not need to hear him say it to know that Hongjoong would, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day I won’t write such long chapters, but it is not today. I feel like nothing even happened this chapter, but them growing accustomed to each other at the mansion felt necessary.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn’t where I was hoping to be by now but the good news is you’re getting more fic. If you happen to be at KCon LA right now… hopefully this will keep you busy during a long wait in line or something~

Seonghwa’s fingers played absently in the longer hair at Hongjoong’s neck as the hunter mewled softly and shifted against him in his sleep.

He had insisted he would not find sleep again given what had happened, but his body apparently disagreed.

They had not returned to bed… though Yunho had dutifully blocked out the light from the broken windows with sheets and old curtains. Seonghwa had sent everyone to sleep in the rooms which were on the safe, undamaged side of the hall; Yunho and Mingi looked after San in Wooyoung’s room while Wooyoung and Yeosang remained in the latter’s room together. Jongho kept to his own room, but he had taken a few extra weapons with him from the makeshift armory when he went.

Seonghwa had resolved to wait in the hall until sunset, until he knew for certain that any potential daytime threat had passed.

Hongjoong had insisted on doing the same.

Had it just been him alone, Seonghwa would have simply stood at the mouth of the hall, a silent sentinel, the hours slipping past him like seconds for the sheer number that he’d seen in his lifetime. There were places he could go in his mind, his memories, that made it seem like days passed in hours, in minutes, in seconds. Sometimes, he slipped into those states involuntarily, though it had not happened recently to any great degree. San was especially perceptive about it, and if he had not seen or heard Seonghwa in more than a few hours, he would always go looking for him, without fail.

Hongjoong, though. He could not be expected to stand guard for the rest of the day on what could not have been more than a couple of hours worth of sleep.

And so, Seonghwa had pulled one of the chaise lounges from the bedroom into the hall, setting it up right in the archway that led to the foyer, facing the long line of bedroom doors. Doors behind which his very reasons for living lay. His coven. His family.

Seonghwa had settled onto the chaise, holding out a hand for Hongjoong to join him. He did, leaning against his side and setting his shotgun next to him on the cushion.

“And so our watch begins.” Seonghwa had murmured, glancing down at the hunter.

“And so it does.” Hongjoong had agreed with a wag of his eyebrows. “Think any of ‘em are getting any actual sleep?”

“San is out.” Seonghwa had confirmed. “Mingi too. Yunho is… still guilt-stricken. Jongho is trying. Yeosang and Wooyoung are speaking.”

“Never get used to that vampire super-hearing.” Hongjoong had grumbled. “I hope they all find rest.”

And they all did. Eventually, Yunho had nodded off. Jongho slipped under. Yeosang and Wooyoung’s conversation fell quiet. Hongjoong, too, had inadvertently fallen asleep, dozing against Seonghwa’s side.

The house was quiet save for three calmly-beating hearts.

For Seonghwa, it was like a lullaby.

Hongjoong would likely scold him later, for allowing him to nod off. Seonghwa did not particularly care. He knew the human needed sleep, certainly far more than he himself did.

He sat still as the grave as Hongjoong grunted unconsciously and shifted closer, his head tucking closer against his shoulder before he settled once more. Seonghwa could not resist leaning in to press a feather-light kiss against his temple, brushing some of the hair from his face.

It was hard to remember that he was allowed this, these small affections, with Hongjoong—at least, they were never protested or shunned.

How far they’d come… from tumultuous, infrequent meetings under what were often the worst of circumstances, to this. To Hongjoong—a vampire _ hunter— _ feeling secure enough that he could fall asleep in his presence.

He stayed asleep for several hours, until something in his dreams disturbed him enough to awaken him. Hongjoong jolted to awareness, blinking up at Seonghwa and then at his surroundings as his sleep-addled brain attempted to supply where the hell he was. It took several seconds, and then he grimaced.

“You’re always letting me nod off when I don’t wanna.” He complained, shoving the other lightly.

“So long as there are not any truly dire circumstances, I will continue to do so.” Seonghwa told him. “Your body is telling you that you need sleep. You should listen to it.”

Hongjoong just made a face at him, though he may have meant to give a rebuttal until Seonghwa sat up straighter, looking toward Wooyoung’s room with concern marring his brow.

“San is awake. If you’ll excuse me. I leave you to hold down the fort.” He was serious, but there was something teasing in his tone, too. Hongjoong nodded his head toward the door, motioning for him to go.

He wasn’t gone for long. It seemed that only a few minutes had gone by when Mingi emerged, yawning tiredly and scratching his stomach as he padded down the hall. He offered Hongjoong a wave and a lopsided grin as he passed on his way to the stairs. He was back not long after, carrying a few blood bags. He disappeared into Wooyoung’s room once more, and didn’t come out again. 

Seonghwa returned after a little while, taking a seat next to Hongjoong on the chaise once again.

“How’s San?” Hongjoong asked softly.

“He has healed well, but it takes a lot of his energy to do so, which is why he needs to keep feeding more often than usual. It isn’t healthy for Yunho to continue offering his own blood without giving himself enough recovery time, however, so I had Mingi fetch him some blood bags.”

“What about you?” Hongjoong asked, his gaze tracking down Seonghwa’s neck and arm. The vampire gave him a questioning look, as though he didn’t understand. “You were hurt, too. Do you need to feed more?”

“Me? No, no, I am… well. You know well enough by now that I am… very old. My injuries heal much more efficiently than San’s. And I fed not so long ago, as you may recall.” Seonghwa reminded him with a sly grin.

Hongjoong coughed, looking away. “All right. Well. Just don’t try acting tough when you’re actually in pain or something, okay?”

“That would be  _ your  _ particular modus operandi, Hongjoong-ah.” Seonghwa countered, eyebrow raised.

Hongjoong put his hands up. “I choose to remain silent rather than incriminating myself.”

Seonghwa laughed, then, shaking his head. It was some comfort to know that Hongjoong at least appeared somewhat self-aware in that respect.

Eventually, the others awoke, too… some more gracefully than others. Wooyoung appeared as though he had not slept well, Yeosang keeping close to him and rubbing his fingertips along the pressure points at the base of his neck to relieve his tension. Yunho was the last to wake—a self-confessed heavy sleeper, as promised—but was quick to check the curtains in the other rooms to ensure his work had held up. None of them had budged.

Yeosang informed Seonghwa that the glass company would be stopping by in a few hours… they employed mostly vampires, so they generally worked through the nighttime. He was surprised that they were able to come so quickly, but Yeosang told him that as soon as he’d mentioned Seonghwa’s name, their schedule mysteriously cleared to accommodate him.   

As promised, the workers arrived not long after sunset and got to work on installing new windows. Hongjoong seemed impressed at the turnover.

“Coming out within twenty-four hours to do so many custom-sized replacements… are all vampire businesses so punctual?”

“I know the vampire who owns the company.” Seonghwa explained. “I have been doing business with him for over thirty years. I invested in his first prototypes. I would never expect it, but… it is appreciated that he would prioritize my coven’s needs.”

For a long moment, Hongjoong didn’t say anything. The silence of the mansion was filled with a cacophony of drills and hammers. Hongjoong missed the usual sounds of Seonghwa or Yeosang distantly playing an instrument, or Wooyoung and San fighting over a video game. He sighed, looking up.

“Seonghwa-hyung, I know that you won’t… seal the windows, but. I would just feel better if there were…  _ some  _ kind of security improvements.”

“If you have suggestions which do not effectively turn my mansion into a prison, then I will take them under advisement.” Seonghwa told him, bringing one hand up to gently cradle his jaw in a comforting gesture. He could see the tension in it, see the worry balled up in the muscles at his shoulders. “My home is yours for as long as you need it. These are not mere words. Anything you have need of, I will provide. And if safety is what you require, I will do my best to arrange that.”

Hongjoong swallowed, looking down. “I’ll.. talk to Yunho, and we’ll get with Mingi to discuss it, since security is his area.”

“Whatever you need.” Seonghwa assured.

And it  _ was _ an assurance, but Hongjoong did not feel remotely comforted.

He doubted that he ever could, with the ones who attacked them still very much at large.

***

Sunlight speared harmlessly through the newly-installed windows of San’s room, allowing the brightness in but filtering out the harmful UV rays. Yunho fussed with the curtains he’d just reinstalled once the window workers had gone on their way, ensuring they would overlap a little when closed as to block out all the light for sleeping.

“Does he still have you doing all his dirty work, Yunho?” Mingi asked from the doorway, appearing there to lean against the jamb. “You know he’s just milking it, right? He’s more than healed.”

“I was very seriously hurt!” San protested from where he was cuddled up on the bed, surrounded by easily two-dozen plushies.

“You were, and we were all worried to death. But now you’re swell so don’t try and use this poor human, you brat.” Mingi countered, leaping onto the bed and tackling San in a crushing hug. The younger vampire yelped, but was soon laughing and rolling around with him, tossing plushies playfully at his head.

Yunho watched fondly for a moment, grinning to himself. San had been in rough shape that first night, so seeing him like this was a relief.

“Move your dumb stuffed animals, I wanna sleep with you today.” Mingi griped, swatting one off the bed. San made an affronted noise and proceeded to beat him over the head repeatedly with a particularly fat shiba inu plush. Mingi guarded from the blows as best he could, letting out a chorus of grunts. “Aah! Hey! C’mon, baby, I’m better than any of them, right?”

“You’re literally the lankiest in the house. It’s only bearable because I’m a vampire.” San huffed.

Mingi sounded offended, and Yunho busied himself with closing the curtains so all of the light was blocked out.

“If you two want to get some sleep, I can leave.”

“What? No, Yunho-yah, you’re so cuddly! Don’t leave me!” San whined, dropping the stuffed dog to make grabby-hands at him.

Yunho blinked, his eyes trailing to Mingi, who was still draped across San’s back, before they rested on San again. “Uh… but…?”

“I know you are aware of the vampire orgies. Surely you must have realized that group cuddling is also something we do.” San said in a flat tone.

“Oh.” Yunho sputtered a little, cheeks reddening. They hadn’t shared the bed in Wooyoung’s room, as it was somewhat small for their tall frames; they’d left it to San while Mingi and Yunho kept watch from—and eventually nodded off on—the plush-cushioned window seat and a wingback chair respectively. “I mean. If I’m not intruding.”

“We’re all a big family here.” Mingi assured, smiling sweetly.

“And I mean, it doesn’t have to  _ just  _ be cuddling.” San drawled, smirking. “Mingi has a  _ huge _ dick if that’s something you’re into—”

Yunho choked on air.

“Heaven help me if you don’t shut your damn trap!” Mingi yelped, grabbing the nearest pillow and giving a good show of trying to asphyxiate San with it.

“Please don’t kill each other on my account.” Yunho quelled, waving his hands nervously.

“Oh he’s fine. It’s not like he needs to breathe.” Mingi stated far too calmly, shifting so he was sitting on top of the pillow and, effectively, San’s face… though likely not in the way the latter preferred.

San flailed for several seconds before he finally wriggled free enough to push the other off with a strained grunt. “Get the fuck off of me you overgrown beanpole. Look. I’m just giving the man his options. We both switch so you have  _ plenty _ of those.”

Yunho coughed nervously. “I’m not against it! It’s, uh, just… been a long time since I’ve… um. Bottomed.”

Mingi perked up at that, but San’s face positively  _ lit _ up.

“Oh my  _ god  _ we are keeping him.” San exclaimed, pulling Yunho down into the bed with them. “Tell Hongjoong he can’t have you back. You’re all ours now.”

Yunho laughed, letting himself be maneuvered onto his back so that San could flop onto his chest. Mingi curled up next to the both of them, his hand petting through San’s hair as he watched him fondly.

“Pretty sure hyung would have an aneurism if I stopped forging to become a coven’s concubine.”

“Concubine?!” San balked, letting out a hysterical bark of laughter. “Don’t sell yourself short. You are main-wife material.”

Yunho snorted. “Oh, why thank you. You flatter me.”

“He’s not wrong.” Mingi added, running his fingertips up along the length of Yunho’s arm.

Yunho shivered, his face going beet red as he tried to stammer out some kind of response.

San cocked his head curiously at the reaction. “Mm, what’s that about, Yunho? So eager for me but shy for our Mingi?”

Yunho swallowed the lump in his throat. “I don’t know. I just didn’t… um… think Mingi was attracted to me at all.”

“Have you seen yourself?” Mingi balked. “San’s just been rudely keeping you all to himself, so I haven’t had the chance to say anything.”

“I knew you’d steal him away given the chance so I had to shoot my shot quick.” San quipped. “Both of you holed up in the security room for hours, bonding over  _ forum posts.” _

“You are grasping here. I was keeping it professional.” Mingi huffed. “Maybe I shouldn’t have, though. Maybe I should’ve asked if he wanted me over the desk or something. Take a page from your ‘less-than-subtle’ book.”

“Subtlety is slow.” San grunted. “I’m impatient.”

“Ironic from an immortal.” Yunho commented in a thready voice.

“Speaking of impatience…” San segued, entirely obvious from the lilt in his tone. “You should have started taking your clothes off like, five whole minutes ago.”

“Oh, my bad.” Yunho teased, smirking as he pulled his shirt over his head. “Better?”

“Getting there.” San said with a grin. “Pants.”

“You gotta let him up for that, baby.” Mingi chided, grabbing San and pulling him to his own lap. He was entirely naked now, somehow, and Yunho hadn’t even noticed him peeling out of his clothes at all.

San pouted, but let himself be moved, then helped out of his clothes. Yunho kicked off his own pants and boxers, getting out of them just in time for Mingi to slide over. He ran a hand over Yunho’s thigh, his other hand depositing the lube onto the bed next to them. When had he even grabbed it?

San whined, flopping down onto all fours next to Yunho and staring at Mingi with a pitiful gaze. “So you’re just gonna leave me over here by myself while you prep him?”

Mingi paused, moving to slide up behind San until he was pinning him to the bed, nibbling and kissing at his neck while he rutted against him. “M’not gonna be long. And we both know  _ you  _ don’t want  _ or _ need much prep yourself, so…”

San let out a sound that was something like frustration and pleasure all tangled up into one as Mingi moved away once more, kneeling between Yunho’s legs. He grabbed the lube, snapping it open and giving San an eyeroll when he pouted again.

“San.” Yunho called, grabbing at his hip to pull him over even as Mingi was pushing his knees up to his chest, pressing lube-slicked fingers against him and causing his whole body to jolt.

San looked at him curiously, watching the range of reactions that crossed his face when Mingi pressed just one finger inside, hissing and gripping one of his knees with a free hand.

“God you’re tight…”

Yunho let out a whine at that, reaching out for San again.

After some nonsensical muttering and maneuvering, Yunho finally just pulled San over to straddle his chest, facing Mingi, and only  _ then _ did San realize what he wanted. He shivered in delight.

“Oh, you’re such a good boy.” He cooed, leaning forward to capture Mingi’s lips until the concentration furrowing his brow smoothed out. “He’s  _ such  _ a good boy.”

“Yeah.” Mingi agreed, trying to keep his pace measured so he didn’t hurt the human.

Instead of allowing himself to writhe and rut his hips, Yunho focused his pent up energy on opening San up with his tongue, gripping both his thighs and pulling him back against his face as though  _ he _ was the one who didn’t need to breathe. Soon enough  _ San _ was the one writhing over him, balancing his hands on Yunho’s broad chest, feeling it twitch and heave under him as Mingi worked him up to three fingers.

“Nngh, if one of you doesn’t get your dick in me  _ right now _ I’m gonna lose my mind.” San complained, nails digging into Yunho’s sides a little when he flicked his tongue just so.

“Okay, easy, easy.” Mingi soothed, gently pulling his fingers free and helping San off of Yunho. “Here, switch with me.”

Yunho nodded a little deliriously, letting Mingi lie back on the bed and pull him onto his lap. His face scrunched up a bit in confusion at just where San fit into this equation, but Mingi waved off his concern.

“Just focus on taking me, I’ll handle San.” He promised. He used one hand to slick up his own cock while the other found San next to him, kneeling and wriggling impatiently off to the side. He slipped his free hand under him, fingering him idly while he watched Yunho slowly sink down onto his cock.

It took a few long moments before Yunho was able to take all of him, but finally he was fully seated with his ass flush against Mingi’s hips. Once he stopped trembling, Mingi grabbed the lube again, slicking up Yunho’s cock. He jumped at the contact, groaning low in his throat from the sudden sensation.

“Okay, baby.” Mingi said, and San moved.

He slid between them, straddling Mingi in front of Yunho and sliding back onto his cock. Yunho’s hands immediately found his hips, holding fast to them as though his sanity depended upon it.

_ “Oh fuck—”  _

It wasn’t evident just which one of them had said it. Perhaps more than one of them. Perhaps all three.

“Move, please, one of you  _ move—”  _ San hissed breathlessly, and they did.

It took several false starts before they were finally falling into a rhythm together, but as soon as they did, it was glorious. Once his hips were moving of their own accord, driven as if entirely by desire, Yunho leaned forward and latched his lips to San’s neck, kissing and nipping down along his shoulder and spine. Mingi’s hands wandered upward, spanning across San’s chest so that he could thumb at his nipples, nails dragging across his pectorals.

In that moment, San could tell you what heaven was. Heaven was being pinned between two very big, very attractive men whose attentions were entirely upon him.

Yunho would give a similar description of heaven, although his would simply include fucking one gorgeous vampire while being fucked by another, equally gorgeous vampire. He hadn’t ever indulged in anything quite like this before, even with humans, and he was beginning to question whether or not he had even truly lived.

When they eventually came, it wasn’t all at once. Rather, it was like a cascade, one after the other after the other like dominoes. Yunho was the first to come, digging his blunt nails into San’s hips and his blunt teeth into San’s shoulder and growling with it, shaking with it. Mingi was soon to follow, feeling Yunho tighten and shiver around him until his own rhythm faltered and he was coming, too. San was last, still rolling his hips back against Yunho as Mingi absently gripped his cock and stroked over him in a messy, desperate cadence. Eventually he came with a strained cry, all but collapsing onto Mingi’s chest as though he couldn't care less about the complete mess he’d just made of them both.

They all needed showers, new sheets, new  _ clothes,  _ but none of them seemed very motivated to move.

Most of all, the three of them needed  _ sleep,  _ and chose to succumb to it, tangled together.

***

Sunset found everyone at the kitchen table, gathering for ‘breakfast’, though the vast majority of the table’s occupants did not even partake in the food. It was still… nice. Seonghwa enjoyed these small domestic moments.

The last to join them were San, Yunho and Mingi, who all entered together. It was no mystery as to why.

Yunho looked… debauched. His hair was a wreck, and his neck was littered with pale pink marks. San’s blood was strong enough to heal the vast majority of cuts or bruises over time, but it could not fully heal them away at the same rate as Seonghwa’s old blood, and so they did not completely fade.

Jongho pointedly looked away from Yunho as he spooned his eggs onto the other’s plate after he sat down, returning to his own seat as quickly as humanly possible. Seonghwa instantly sensed his discomfort, and even Yeosang was watching him curiously as he focused his gaze on his own plate, as though it were the most interesting thing in the entire world.

They ate in relative silence, until Hongjoong broke it, already done with his own food for the most part.

“Sleep well, Yunho-yah?” Hongjoong teased, smirking at him.

Yunho gave a bright, unbothered smile. “Yeah, I did, hyung. Finally getting used to being nocturnal, I think.”

“Good. Maybe you won’t nod off at your desk so much anymore.” Hongjoong replied with a chuckle.

“At least I’ve managed to stay awake at my forge. Though things have been slow-going without my setup being what I’m used to.”

Seonghwa looked up, concerned. “Yunho-ssi, if you have need of anything else, did I not tell you to bring your requests to me?”

Yunho gestured manically, waving off the concern. “No, it’s—the kinds of changes I’d need would be structural. Expensive, time-consuming…”

Seonghwa just stared at him, as though he was awaiting the reason why that was not feasible. It took him a moment to realize the human was done speaking.

“Neither of those things is a disqualifying factor. Draw up the designs and I will have them implemented.”

“But—” Yunho started to protest, however, Seonghwa didn’t appear as though any argument would sway him. He sighed instead. “Fine, I’ll… sketch something out.”

Seonghwa nodded, seemingly satisfied, and stood. “Hongjoong-ah… I would speak with you, when you can spare a moment.”

Hongjoong looked up, trying to school his features as to not appear like a child preparing to be scolded. He wasn’t sure why he felt like Seonghwa was going to chide him over something, but he did.

“Uh, sure. Now’s fine.”

Seonghwa offered him a smile, then took his leave to the common room. Hongjoong followed, waving off the stares of everyone else at the table. He was sure San was going to tease him, had Yeosang not shot him a look.

Hongjoong’s expression hovered between worried and expectant when the vampire turned to him, his smile falling.

“I thought we might discuss what your intended next steps were with regard to the investigation. I would rather avoid another incident like the recent attack, least of all one we are not prepared for or anticipating.”

Hongjoong felt guilt knife through his gut. “Yunho and I really are sorry—”

Seonghwa raised a placating hand. “I am not angry with either of you. Nor am I resentful. This conversation isn’t meant to guilt you.”

“R-right…” Hongjoong mumbled, looking down. “I don’t know. Continuing our investigation is fucking useless at best and putting everyone in danger, at worst.”

“What other solution would you propose?” Seonghwa asked gently. “You have never struck me as the type of man who simply gives up.”

“I’ll just… I don’t know. Maybe I’ll try something more hands-on. Stakeouts or… whatever else I can manage.”

“You’d only be putting yourself at risk.” Seonghwa reasoned. “And lest we forget,  _ your _ base was attacked while you were doing just that.”

Hongjoong sighed, his frustration mounting. “I know! It’s just… you’re right. I can’t just. Stop.”

“In this scenario, I do not know if there is another option which does not lead to more danger for yourself, your team and my coven.” Seonghwa murmured, setting a hand on his shoulder. “Perhaps you could try not to consider it as stopping. Instead, think of it merely as… taking pause. Reconvening with your team and laying out all the evidence you have already gathered. A new lead may present itself.”

Hongjoong frowned, seeming doubtful… but it was better than doing  _ nothing.  _

***

“This is useless.” Wooyoung sighed, flopping down onto Yeosang’s chest where he was lounging comfortably on his favorite chaise in the library.

He set his book aside, pressing a kiss to Wooyoung’s temple. “I told you not to stress yourself out over this, my love. We have pored over these historical records plenty already. If there were something for us to find, we would have surely found it by now.”

“I know, I just. I feel like I’m not really helping at all.” Wooyoung grumbled, burying his face against Yeosang’s neck.

“Who says you have to be of any help?” Yeosang countered.

“I’m a part of this coven now and I want to feel like I’m doing my part when this kind of stuff comes up, you know?”

“What has San done?” Yeosang asked expectantly. “Not to imply that San is useless; he has very much succeeded in making Yunho feel at home here. But he hasn’t done anything for the investigation. And that is fine; it isn’t required of him. We all help in the ways that we can.”

“What if I can’t help at all?”

“You have more than done your part. How many of these texts did you sift through? Twice, now? Just because you have not  _ found  _ anything does not make your efforts worth any less.” Yeosang reasoned.

Wooyoung let out a dramatic huff of a sigh. “I guess.”

“I regret that you’ve even been dragged into all this.” Yeosang lamented, holding Wooyoung closer. “You’ve been a vampire less than six months and already you’ve been subjected to all this strife.”

“What?” Wooyoung grunted, pulling back. “No, Yeosang it’s… it’s fine. I know all this stuff seems daunting but it’s not much different than when I was human. Back then I was fighting for my right to exist too, you know? Just for different reasons.”

“I don’t want that for you.” Yeosang murmured, pained. “You deserve so much better than that.”

“When I agreed to let you turn me, I consented to becoming a vampire. That means I accepted all the shit that comes with it. A small price to pay to live forever.” Wooyoung leaned in and pressed a sweet kiss to Yeosang’s lips. “Besides… I have you, and this coven. This family. This is… it’s a lot. It’s everything… so I want to fight for it. Even if that just means sifting through a bunch of dusty books.”

“I understand the sentiment.” Yeosang said softly, nuzzling against his cheek. “Seonghwa would scold me for speaking of them so aloofly, but I would fight in a hundred wars for you. A thousand of them.”

“You’re a sap.” Wooyoung grumbled, nudging their noses together. “Such a hopeless romantic. You’re turning into Seonghwa.”

Yeosang let out a scoff of mock-offense.

“Perish the thought.” He replied in a too-accurate impression of his sire, causing his fledgling to giggle and swat at his chest until the older gathered him up close and kissed him silent.

Wooyoung was more than happy to be silenced, though, humming sweetly against Yeosang’s lips.

They slotted into each other now as though it were second nature—like magnetism—both of them helpless to fight the pull.

Their chaste, languid kisses soon turned heated, however, and after too long, Wooyoung was all but squirming in Yeosang’s lap.

“Mm… want you, Yeosangie…”

“I suppose we’ll need to be courteous of our guests.” Yeosang murmured against Wooyoung’s neck, pressing a sweet kiss there before pulling back. 

“Half of our guests are worse than us.” Wooyoung chuckled.

“Mm, very true.” Yeosang agreed, kissing up under the other’s jaw again. “So, then, are we saying to hell with courtesy?”

Wooyoung’s heated gaze told him that, indeed, they were.

Several historical texts clattered to the floor when Wooyoung’s arm shot out as he scrabbled for purchase along the bookshelves he was being pressed into minutes later, absent his clothes and—judging by the volume of the sounds he was letting out—also absent any restraint.

“Mm, once more with  _ feeling,  _ my love… I don’t believe the humans residing in the next town over quite heard you.” Yeosang teased, goading him with another hard kick of his hips.

Never one to disappoint, Wooyoung let out a sweet wail, choked off at the end a little from another rough thrust that sent the books shaking.

“Much better… that’s bound to get us both scolded later.” Yeosang drawled, smirking against the sensitive skin of Wooyoung’s neck. He pressed two open-mouthed kisses to his jugular before nipping at him, earning him a soft mewl. “I’m sure Seonghwa will have his complaints.”

Somehow, Wooyoung could not find it in himself to care.

***

The common room was occupied with half the household; San was laid out on the floor playing on his Switch, Jongho in one of the recliners fiddling with a puzzle box one of the vampires had challenged him with and Hongjoong settled on a loveseat across from him with Seonghwa, watching over the vampire’s shoulder as he scrolled through recent news articles.

A sweet, pleasured sound echoed so loudly from upstairs that even the humans heard it clearly, and all four of them—human and vampire alike—looked up with varying degrees of scandalized expressions.

“Well all right then, Wooyoung.” San said, sounding more impressed than anything else. “So much for ‘we have guests’.”

He shot a look at Seonghwa, who shrugged. “I did try.”

San sighed, setting his game aside. “Mm, too bad Yunho’s busy at his forge. Hearing that puts me in some type of mood.”

Another high-pitched keening noise cut across the house, clearly not stifled in any sense.

Seonghwa rolled his eyes. “I expect this kind of behavior from you, San, but those two? You must be rubbing off on them.”

San tried to look offended, but failed miserably and opted for shrugging instead. “Maybe I should go find Mingi and see if I can rub off on him some, hm?”

“Boo.” Hongjoong grunted in disapproval at the play on words.

“I actually don’t believe Yunho is in the forge right now. You’re hearing the architect I hired to design renovations down there for him. I believe he is in the security room with Mingi.” Seonghwa told him.

San jumped to his feet. “What?! Those bastards better not be having fun without me.”

He headed for the foyer with more haste than was probably necessary for a non-emergency.

Seonghwa shook his head, clicking his tongue in a chiding—but fond—manner. “What ever will I do with him?”

“It’s partially my fault. I basically provided him with fresh meat.” Hongjoong joked, sitting up and pressing against Seonghwa’s side to kiss his neck softly. “I’d apologize, but I’m not exactly sorry.”

Across the room, on the couch opposite them, Jongho shot to his feet. He cleared his throat uncomfortably before leaving the room quickly.

Hongjoong and Seonghwa both watched him go, though each were wearing different expressions. After a moment, the former shrugged.

“Well, since we’ve got the room all to ourselves, now…”

Seonghwa laughed, shaking his head as Hongjoong climbed into his lap. “You’re just as bad as them, you know.”

“If you can’t beat ‘em…” Hongjoong murmured, nipping at Seonghwa’s bottom lip.

Seonghwa didn’t bother finishing the thought for him, instead threading a hand into his hair and pulling him in for a searing kiss.

***

An hour later saw Seonghwa settling Hongjoong in the bath as he so often did after wreaking havoc on his limbs. The house had fallen mostly quiet… it seemed that everyone had wound down. He grinned to himself and headed back down to the common room, cleaning up before the others could complain at him for defiling their shared space.

He was just finishing up when Mingi strode in, looking around as though he were lost. His hair was in disarray, one side plastered against the side of his head while the other was splayed out in a tangled mess.

Seonghwa raised an eyebrow and tilted his head at him expectantly. Mingi smiled bashfully and ran both hands through it to tame it down a little.

“Mingi, since you are down here… have you checked on Jongho-ssi lately?” Seonghwa asked. “I worry about his condition.”

“I’ve been looking for him, actually. Haven’t seen hide nor hair of him all day. He always gets like this when we’re all…”

“Occupied with each other?” Seonghwa finished with an amused grin.

“Yeah. Been meaning to talk to him about it, actually.” Mingi mumbled. “Any idea where he might be?”

“Well, his scent is very faint and it sounds as though someone is swimming. As everyone else is accounted for, I would venture a guess that he is using the pool.” Seonghwa told him.

Mingi snapped his fingers. “Makes sense. Thanks, Seonghwa.”

The elder vampire patted his cheek and gave him a fond smile as he passed by on his way to the back door.

Mingi indeed found Jongho in the pool, swimming laps. He was laser-focused, his form perfect as he approached the far edge of the pool in a flawless butterfly stroke, then headed back in an equally-perfect front crawl after executing a brilliant underwater turn.

Mingi crouched at the end of the lane by the side of the pool, waiting patiently. When Jongho halted and surfaced, he cocked his head a little to meet his gaze.

“Hi.”

Jongho cleared his throat, wiping water from his face and pushing his hair out of his eyes. “Hey.”

“How’s your head?”

Jongho grimaced. “It’s fine… it’s only been five days.”

“I know, but I didn’t want it to get bad like you usually let it.” Mingi said, offering a hand. “Better that we catch it early, right?”

“I… guess.” Jongho sighed and took it, hauling himself out of the pool. Mingi handed him a towel, and the other promptly buried his face in it.

“You know you don’t need to be intimidated by any of us. We don’t bite unless we’re asked.” Mingi told him with a toothy grin that said he knew just how cheesy that sounded.

“I’m not intimidated.” Jongho mumbled, scrubbing his hair dry before letting the towel rest around his neck.

“Just seems like you’re walking on eggshells around us.” Mingi observed. “So, is something bothering you?”

Jongho frowned. “It’s… complicated.”

“Let me hazard a guess. Everyone’s all sharing each other’s beds and you’re… not interested in men?” Mingi tried.

“Not interested… period.” Jongho corrected.

“Oh.” Mingi seemed to sit on that for a moment before breaking out into a bright smile. “You’re a unicorn.”

The earnest way he said it made Jongho’s face scrunch up in embarrassment rather than offense.

“That’s just what San says people jokingly call it, anyway, especially in vampire circles. Because it’s rare to see it. Ace people. But that explains a lot.” Mingi said. “Thank you for telling me. I’m sorry if I made you feel like you had to, but I really wanted to get to the root of this, you know? Now I can help you a lot better.”

Jongho’s voice was a little flat when he responded. “And how’s that?”

Mingi blinked, wide-eyed for the vitriol he’d heard in his tone. It was only for a moment, though, before he waved off his concern. “What? No, no, not like,  _ fix  _ you or something, gosh that’s really ignorant, no. I meant to… make you more comfortable with this whole familiar thing.”

Jongho startled. “Oh.”

“I know we all share each other’s beds and… more than that, but that’s not how we treat all our familiars. We’ve got plenty who just take their blood and go! So, I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything. You have my solemn promise that no one will try putting the moves on you from now on. Most especially me.”

“That’s, um… thanks.”

“Yeah, and uh, if you’re fine with just cuddling or holding hands or kissing or anything else you can let me know what you’re comfortable with and we’ll know not to push past any of your boundaries.”

Jongho finally smiled, then. “You know you’re… the first person I’ve talked to about this who didn’t insist I’d grow out of it or that I just hadn’t found the  _ right person.” _

Mingi scoffed. “Did Hongjoong say that? Or Yunho?”

“No, no, they uh… they don’t know. Maybe they suspect it, but I never brought it up to them. Just, before. When I was younger. I learned to shut up about it pretty early.”

“Well you don’t have to shut up about it now.” Mingi assured. “Or, we can agree to never speak of it again. Whatever you want.”

Mingi held out his hand, presenting it for a pinky-promise. Jongho rolled his eyes, but he was grinning when he entwined his own pinky with his and they shook on it.

“It’s nice to be able to talk about it. And… I like small affections. Closeness, cuddling… kissing.” Jongho took his hand back, clearing his throat in discomfort again. “I just don’t wanna give the impression that it’ll lead to more so I… avoided them.”

“You don’t have to avoid them, if you like them! I can respect boundaries.” Mingi crossed his arms. “I’m an adult, thank you very much.”

“I should hope so. You’re like, what, a hundred?” Jongho teased.

“A hundred and two, thank you.” Mingi corrected proudly. “I think. Give or take a year.”

Jongho laughed. “Right. Well, you look great.”

“Sweet of you to say.” Mingi teased, tugging him closer to kiss his forehead before pulling away and ruffling his hair. “You’re actually pretty funny when you aren’t avoiding us like the plague.”

Jongho smiled just a bit, almost to himself, and looked away. “Well, you know. Vampire jokes. They never get old.”

Mingi doubled over in laughter at that, anchoring himself on Jongho’s shoulder with one palm. Jongho had to really work to keep himself from bursting out into giggles, too.

***

Things were infinitely less awkward after that. San had been given a stern talking-to… that was to say, he was  _ going  _ to be given one, but the moment Mingi got out the words ”he’s Ace,” San cut him off.

“Oh my god I didn’t know! I’m sorry, I’ll try to stop looking at him like I want to eat him. And hands off!”

“Hands are fine. Sort of. Cuddling, kissing… just don’t go expecting more than that. That’s what makes him so uncomfortable.” Mingi clarified.

“Cuddling’s okay? Yay!” San beamed, wrapping both his arms around one of Jongho’s and holding it close to his chest. His dimples were particularly prominent against his cheeks when his smile met his eyes. “You look like you’re  _ great  _ at cuddling. You’re so  _ thick!” _

Mingi gave him a withering look, but his smile was innocent enough.

“What’s going on down here?” Wooyoung asked with a chuckle as he and Yeosang found their way to the common room, seeking out the commotion.

“We’re allowed to cuddle Jongho now!” San piped up.

“What? Since when?” Wooyoung balked.

“Since he and Mingi talked and we all agreed to respect his boundaries because he’s Ace and doesn’t want to fuck us but other stuff is fine!”

“Oh. Oh! You’re  _ Ace!  _ I thought you might be straight? Or just… were really uncomfortable around vampires?” Wooyoung said.

“I’m about as straight as boiled ramyun.” Jongho quipped. “And I know I’m a hunter but you guys saved my life, so… I’d be an asshole if I wasn’t comfortable around you all after  _ that.” _

“Well this is great news.” Wooyoung chirped with a pleased little grin, plopping down next to him on the couch. “It’ll be a lot less awkward around here. And you seem like you’d be good at cuddling.”

“Hold up you little minx, don’t think I don’t see what you’re doing!” San snapped, grip tightening a little on Jongho’s arm. “You think you’re slick, but I know better!”

“San, you  _ literally _ jumped on Yunho the  _ moment _ you got him here. Don’t be so selfish.” Wooyoung griped. There was a short pause, only a second or two, before Wooyoung smirked and plastered himself across Jongho, hugging him. “Learn to share!”

“You—!” San yelped, moving to attempt to extricate Jongho from Wooyoung’s grip without harming the human. It was proving difficult, though, and he and Wooyoung just ended up in a shoving spat with Jongho unfortunately pinned between them.

“That’s enough.” Mingi grunted, grabbing San and pulling him off.

Jongho dipped low, maneuvered the vampire still holding him and then stood, taking Wooyoung with him. He draped the other’s legs over his shoulders, lifting him like it was nothing.

Wooyoung blinked from his position at the small of Jongho’s back, arms flailing helplessly for a moment. “Hey!”

“Both of you, chill out.” Jongho said sternly. “As flattering as this is, I'm not a chew toy.”

Wooyoung whined, flailing again. “Okay, okay, put me down!”

“Quit struggling or I’m gonna drop you.” Jongho quipped.

“Do it, let me go! Your threats mean nothing to me!” Wooyoung bit back, holding him around his middle. 

Jongho just shrugged, letting go with both hands with an expression like he was glad to wash his hands of this entire situation.

Wooyoung just held fast to his waist, letting his legs fall back until they touched the floor. His back was basically bent into a u-shape, but that didn’t seem to faze him at all as he finally let go. He allowed his forward momentum to take him through a one-handed cartwheel, then he stood up and posed dramatically.

Yeosang held up ten fingers, grinning proudly. Mingi only held up eight, but San was giving him a thumbs-down with his tongue sticking out. Yunho offered a soft round of applause, smiling gleefully.

“A mess. You’re all a mess.” Hongjoong griped. “Are you seeing this?”

Seonghwa hummed, appearing entirely unfettered as he swiped to the next page on his tablet. “Pandemonium.”

Jongho flopped back onto the couch, and Wooyoung was soon to follow, tucking up against Yeosang this time. Mingi settled with San, who defiantly grabbed Jongho’s hand just to be a brat.

“Perhaps we should put on a film to quell the children?” Seonghwa suggested absently, glancing up at Yeosang, who shrugged.

“Not the worst idea, until they start fighting over what to watch.”

“Ah, of course. How could I be so foolish?” Seonghwa replied, deadpan. “Shall I select, then? How about the sweet animated feature with the boy and the dragon?”

“Oh I like that one!” Mingi piped up delightedly, grabbing the remote to pull up the digital copy on their account.

“Wow, vampires who love cartoon kids’ films, go figure.” Hongjoong said with a huff of a laugh.

“That’s a really good one, though.” San added. “And we always thought that Seonghwa looks a bit like Toothless!”

“Huh?” Hongjoong squinted at the promo image of the dragon now on the television, then at Seonghwa, scrutinizing them both for a long moment. “Eh, I don’t know.”

Hongjoong turned his head sideways, trying to see what they saw. Seonghwa had simply stared dutifully at him up until that point, but at the ridiculous angle, the vampire couldn’t help but cock an eyebrow and tilt his head.

“Oh, yep. There it is, now I see it.”

Seonghwa smiled, then, his eyes crinkling up, and Hongjoong felt his heart stutter in his chest.

It stuttered again—no, outright  _ leapt— _ when the bell at the front door rang loudly from the foyer.

Confused glances were exchanged in silence, no one having any earthly idea who it could be.

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume you all don’t get many guests.” Jongho said, finally.

Yeosang inclined his head, his expression saying that was exactly true.

“Our familiars usually shoot a warning text first.” Mingi said distractedly, grabbing his laptop and pulling up the security feed. “Uh. Looks like a… courier? They’re holding an envelope.”

Seonghwa took stock of the room, shrugged ambivalently, and headed for the door.

He could hear the way everyone shuffled behind him, poking their heads out into the foyer to watch. He answered the door, had a short conversation with the polite young woman and accepted the envelope with a thank-you before they bowed to each other and she took her leave.

“What is it?” San asked, eyes full of wonder as Seonghwa sliced open the envelope with a fingernail, removing the elegant black card inside.

He halted halfway through the foyer, going still as the grave as his eyes traced over the scrolling silver text.

“Seonghwa?” Wooyoung all but whispered.

“What is it?” Hongjoong asked, voice filled with concern and dread both in equal measure.

“It’s an invitation to a gala celebrating the anniversary of the Human-Vampire Accords.”

Seonghwa looked up, appearing for all the world that he’d just witnessed the apocalypse itself.

“It’s from him. It’s from the Ancient.”

***

The invitation sat on the coffee table at the center of the common room, everyone else gathered around and occupying the various furniture pieces. No one seemed to know what to make of it.

“He  _ can’t  _ be serious. A gala to celebrate the Accords. What is it, some kind of  _ masquerade ball?  _ Who does he think he’s fooling?” Hongjoong scoffed. “I could have lifted this from a bad vampire dime novel. This is  _ textbook  _ villain behavior.”

“We are missing something crucial here. It has his address. Presumably. It claims it will be held at his own mansion in Hanam.” Seonghwa said, sounding as though he was trying to convince himself there couldn’t possibly be truth in it. “That would be madness, for him to give us the location of his true homestead… would it not?”

“I mean, it would. But it sure looks like it checks out.” Mingi replied distractedly as he typed away on his laptop, Jongho watching over his shoulder. “The property is a mansion, pretty secluded, near the mountains. Public records show it’s owned by ‘Ancient’.”

“Of course it is.” Hongjoong muttered.

“Wait.” Mingi glanced over at the invitation again before typing like mad. “I am such an idiot! How didn’t I come across it before?”

“What is it, Mingi?” Seonghwa asked kindly.

“Wanna clue us in?” Hongjoong added less-than-kindly.

Mingi haphazardly set his laptop aside and reached a hand out in a grabbing motion. “Marker and paper.”

San rushed from the room and returned with both within two seconds, handing them over. He’d moved so fast that Wooyoung had to snap a hand out to stop the invitation from going flying off the table.

“Okay so look at this. When you were referring to him, Seonghwa, you used the more modern form of the word.” Mingi wrote out the Hangul, and everyone craned their heads around to get a good look. “But according to the invitation, he signs his name like this.”

He added another syllable to the end, then slightly altered the center syllable.

“Now, romanized, his company is called ‘Capital Holdings’ so I just assumed it was a translation of the most common form of the word.” Mingi wrote it out in Hangul, then crossed it out immediately. “But he used a different version of ‘Capital’. It can also mean ‘ancient’.”

Mingi wrote it out right under the name in Hangul. They shared the last two syllables.

“The company name is a play on his own name. The name he calls himself.”

“Holy shit.” Hongjoong murmured.

“There’s no way that’s a coincidence.” Yunho said.

“I agree.” Seonghwa responded quietly.

“So he gave us an address. Invited us to a gala. Wants us to believe he’s celebrating the Accords, which he isn’t the biggest fan of. Am I getting this right?” Jongho asked.

“The invitation says the covens  _ and  _ the Bureau are invited.” Hongjoong commented. “That’s a disaster waiting to happen.”

“This has to be a trap, right?” Yunho said. “This is…  _ clearly _ a trap.”

“But  _ why?”  _ Seonghwa questioned. “He obviously has the means at his disposal to send teams of armed forces against those who would look for him. If he wanted to destroy us, surely he could have made a better effort. Surely he would not send us an invitation to a  _ trap _ mere days after  _ attacking  _ the mansion. Surely he would have the foresight to know we would see it as a Trojan horse.”

“So then, you think the invitation is legitimate?” Wooyoung murmured.

“I simply do not see the logic in sending it with nefarious intent so soon after an assault and expecting it to be accepted.” Seonghwa replied.

“Perhaps some very sophisticated reverse psychology is at play here?” Yeosang suggested.

“That would imply he is expecting us to go down this very path of questioning his intentions.” Seonghwa said. “Which is… not impossible to believe.”

“So, what, we think this really is a gala? That it’s not just a ploy to get you to go to him?” Jongho balked. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

“This  _ has _ to be a trap! I mean, come on!” Yunho insisted.

“Perhaps. Perhaps not. There is but one way to be certain.” Seonghwa murmured, clearly lost in thought.

Yeosang balked. “You cannot be serious. You cannot intend to go… to have us all go.”

“I cannot possibly make such a decision with what little information we currently have. I need… to make some calls, first. If you will all allow me a moment.” Seonghwa gave a small, quelling gesture before taking his leave of the room.

Everyone just watched him go with a mix of confusion and concern.

***

Seonghwa sat in the library next to an antique rotary phone, a small, leather-bound booklet in one hand. The pages were stiff and protested to being flipped through, having remained untouched for so long. He had not needed it for the previous two calls he had made, as he’d had the numbers long-since memorized; one to Hakyeon of the Coven of Starlight and one to Hyunwoo of the Coven of Moonlight. Both had confirmed they received similar invitations.

Both had confirmed they were unsure what to make of such a gesture, and would be taking coven votes as to whether or not they should attend.

Seonghwa felt he had no recourse but to call the Ancient himself.

Seonghwa let his long nails catch on the rotary dial as he spun it in the correct combination, then scratched nervously at the wood of his desk as it began to ring. This was perhaps an incredibly idiotic, an incredibly dangerous, thing to do. But he felt he had no other choice.

After two rings, the line picked up, a simple greeting being offered from the man on the other end.

Seonghwa knew the Ancient’s voice well enough to know that it was him.

“I received your invitation.”

Perhaps he had been rude, not offering a greeting, not even introducing himself… but Seonghwa did not particularly care.

The next thing he heard was a purposeful inhale, almost  _ charmed.  _ It was all, of course, an act. “Park Seonghwa. I’d know that voice anywhere. I am glad my courier was received… I was sure you had not moved your coven in decades.”

“Yes, we are rather fond of Seongnam.” Seonghwa confirmed. “Are you enjoying Hanam?”

“Absolutely. For the last few centuries. I find myself entranced by the mountain views.” The Ancient said. “So, then… have you called to accept my invitation… or to politely decline? You have always been  _ so _ polite, Park Seonghwa.”

“I am proud to have made that impression.” Seonghwa replied cordially. “My coven and I were admittedly surprised to receive your invitation. I only wished to ensure that you did not feel…  _ obligated _ to send it. We would not ever want to impose, were our company not truly wanted.”

The Ancient let out an affronted scoff. “I can assure you that obligation has nothing to do with it. You were paramount in ratifying the Accords. It would be a grievous oversight for you not to be invited.”

“Admittedly, this celebration caught us all off-guard.” Seonghwa told him. “I know that we have not always seen eye to eye with regard to the Accords. I seem to recall a time when our disagreements nearly came to blows.”

The Ancient laughed, full-bellied and genuine. “Yes, well… I have not always been the most level-headed of us, hm?”

“Your words.” Seonghwa replied, earning another laugh.

“I have long since come to realize that the Accords were absolutely essential to facilitating peace between humans and vampires.” The Ancient said. “Looking back, I doubt there was any other way to manage the tension. It is… exactly as you said. At the time, I refused to see it.”

“I am… pleased to hear that you feel that way.” Seonghwa admitted, truthful.

“This gala cannot erase the years I spent opposing the Accords, but perhaps it can help mend the damage caused by my past mistakes.”

Seonghwa hummed. He did not know just what to make of that, but he knew what he had to do. “We will gladly attend.”

“Ah, excellent.” The Ancient replied. “I will be delighted to receive you.”

“Until then.”

“Until then.” The Ancient confirmed, and Seonghwa rested the receiver on its cradle to end the call.

His eyes fell upon the deep trenches his nail had gouged into the wood throughout the conversation, and he frowned.

He wasn’t certain of anything anymore.

***

Seonghwa made his way back to the common room, somewhat surprised to find that everyone was still there, tittering nervously amongst each other… all except San, who was curled up in a blanket, passed out between Yunho and Mingi. His body may have recovered from the sun damage, but he was still experiencing some residual fatigue from the healing, it seemed.

Seonghwa had been gone for over an hour; he had spent quite some time regaling his concerns and recent revelations to the other coven leaders, so that they could make informed decisions and, perhaps, to help him make his own.

He had hardly crossed the threshold when there was a stern knock at the front door. He halted where he stood.

“Who the fuck is it  _ now?”  _ Hongjoong hissed.

Seonghwa’s head craned up, as though he were scenting the air. His expression shifted, settling somewhere between confused and pleased. He said nothing before turning on a heel and crossing back through the foyer.

He pulled open the door, managing something which almost could be described as a smile for their unexpected guest.

“Eden. I must… say, you’ve surprised me, coming to the front door.”

“I’m not here for that.” Eden said, frowning. “I’m here to speak with you… and with Hongjoong’s team. I know they’re here.”

“As does much of South Korea, apparently.” Seonghwa muttered. “Am I to assume the Bureau did, in fact, receive the very same invitation that we have?”

“That would be a safe assumption.” Eden confirmed.

“Today is simply full of surprises for us all.” Seonghwa inclined his head, stepping aside. “Please, come in. Everyone is in the common room. As you can imagine, we are all rather… unsettled at the moment.”

“I’ll bet.” Eden offered something like a wry grin as he passed, and Seonghwa shut the door behind him before leading him to the common room.

Hongjoong was on his feet the moment the other hunter entered. “Eden-hyung?”

“Hongjoong-ah.” He nodded in greeting, then turned to the other hunter as well. “Jongho-ah.”

Jongho sprang to his feet. “Eden-hyung? What are you doing here?”

“The same thing as the rest of you, I imagine.” Eden said, pointing toward the black-and-silver invitation which somehow looked ominous sitting there on the coffee table between them. “Trying to parse out just what the fuck that means.”

Seonghwa raised his eyebrows, glancing sidelong toward the far wall. “Well, he certainly does demonstrate the current mood.”

“If you’re here, I’m assuming the Bureau is up in arms about this whole thing.” Hongjoong guessed.

“No, they’re not. Not like I’d expect. That’s what brought me here.” Eden told them. “There wasn’t any questioning it. No discussions, no confusion. They just started preparing their security forces. It was like… a go-button.”

“I can’t say I like the sound of that.” Mingi murmured, earning nods from several of the others.

“The Bureau must suspect something. They’re preparing a large-scale response. They won’t tell us much; seems like they’re keeping it close to the chest.” Eden added.

“They intend to go to the gala.” Seonghwa said. It was flatly not a question. Eden nodded. “The other covens I have spoken to are uncertain. I have told the Ancient that we will be there, however.”

All heads whipped up, then, save the still-sleeping San’s.

“You  _ spoke _ with him?” Hongjoong hissed.

“I did.” Seonghwa confirmed. “I wanted to gain some insight into his reasonings, and his mindset.”

“Well? What did he say?” Wooyoung asked.

“He… claims he now understands that the Accords were necessary. It seems he wishes to celebrate this anniversary in the wake of that.”

“This  _ monster _ sent his goons to take out my base, and burned you and San half to ash! You can’t possibly trust him!” Hongjoong protested.

“Of course I do not.” Seonghwa rebuffed. “But… I feel we have little choice. Especially if the Bureau intends to go. I don’t feel that we can sit idly by.”

“Points were made.” Jongho piped up.

“If you ask me, the Bureau’s acting like they’ve been waiting for this.” Eden commented.

“They must believe something will be happening during the gala, or that it is a cover for something nefarious.” Seonghwa said, thoughtful. “Or… they plan to execute something themselves during the celebration. Perhaps a play at a push for more regulations.”

Eden frowned. “There are those at the Bureau who would rather not suffer the existence of vampires, but… they can’t possibly act without provocation. People wouldn’t stand for it.”

“History is written by the victors.” Yeosang reminded gravely. “They could easily spread whatever propaganda they wished. The only difference between a revolution and a riot is whether or not it was successful.”

“Perhaps they believe they will have their provocation.” Seonghwa suggested. “I have already expressed my confusion over this gala in the first place. It is well known that the Ancient did not support the Bureau or the Accords. I would like to hope that this is an… olive branch, of sorts, and that he is truly a changed man. But given everything that has happened… I find that hard to believe.”

“As do I.” Eden replied. “This feels like a trap. I just can’t parse out this guy’s endgame. Though I can hazard a guess at the Bureau’s.”

Seonghwa’s mouth was a grim line as he nodded.

“Whatever they have planned… both of them, either of them. It doesn’t matter. We have to go. I agree with Seonghwa that we can’t just sit idly by, trap or not.” Hongjoong spoke up. “We need to be there in the case that shit hits the fan. No matter which side starts it.”

Eden hummed. “I agree. We should try to scope out the area now that we have an address. Physical reconnaissance might not be possible, but we can try a few other things.”

“We have a week.” Hongjoong told them with a decisive nod. “Let’s make it count.”

***

Eden stuck around for a few hours to flesh out the logistics of a reconnaissance plan. They had moved to the security room… just Hongjoong’s team, Eden, Mingi and Seonghwa, as the room was not large enough to accommodate all of them comfortably. After Mingi had booted up all the computers, Hongjoong lamented the loss of his recon drones in the base attack, prompting Seonghwa to ask Yeosang to dig a box of his old drones out of storage. He returned and drop them onto the counter in front of him to curious stares.

“Why do  _ you  _ even have these?” Hongjoong asked as he rummaged through the box. It was a goldmine of parts, completed drones and remotes, neatly stacked and organized.

“I went through a phase in the early 2000’s. I enjoy tinkering with things.” Yeosang explained. “I’ll be going now. It’s claustrophobic in here. Call for me if you need anything else.”

With that, he left, meeting Wooyoung in the hall.

Seonghwa glanced around, quickly realizing he likely was not needed. “I will take my leave as well. I doubt I will be much help to you at this stage. Come find me if there is anything you require.”

He offered a polite bow of his head, mostly toward Eden, before going.

Mingi looked around and realized very quickly that he was the only vampire in the room. He imagined Eden had plenty he wanted to talk to the other hunters about, and he probably couldn’t do that if he was there.

He cleared his throat uncomfortably, pointing toward the hall and shuffling in the direction of the door. “I’m gonna go… uh. Check on San. Yeah. I’ll be a while.”

He darted past them before the weight of their quizzical stares could slow him down, closing the door behind him.

Yunho chuckled and shook his head. “He’s just trying to help us out.”

“Mm. I didn’t particularly want him gone but I understand why he felt the need to leave.” Eden said, collapsing into one of the rolling chairs and propping his feet up on a desk. “All right, tell me everything I missed.”

Hongjoong did.

He went through the investigation—having the good sense to appear regretful at blatantly ignoring Eden’s advice—the ensuing attack on his base, Jongho and Yunho becoming familiars, setting up temporary operations here, running into another dead end and going to the forums for help, which led to an attack on the mansion. Everything.

“I saw the post. My tech guy pointed it out to me. Think he called you some choice words over it. I might’ve as well.” Eden admitted.

Yunho and Hongjoong both appeared embarrassed at that.

“Sorry, hyung. We were really desperate, though.” Said the former.

“I imagine so.” Eden muttered. “Was it worth it?”

The two of them sighed. Hongjoong spoke. “No. Didn’t get us a damn thing.”

“And it nearly got San killed.” Yunho mumbled.

“Seonghwa was injured, too.” Hongjoong added, sounding defeated.

“Well, the good thing is that vampires will pretty much heal from whatever doesn’t kill them.” Eden responded. “At least physically.”

Yunho and Hongjoong both frowned. Yunho’s eyes flickered to the door, and he looked for all the world like he wanted to just find San and wrap him up in his arms, sob more apologies into his neck, beg for the forgiveness he’d already been given tenfold.

Hongjoong’s jaw and fist both clenched, his gaze finding the floor.

“What’s done is done. No use dwelling on it.” Eden told them.

“The best thing we can do for them is to take this guy out.” Jongho added.

“I’m down a base and about two-thirds of my weapons, but we’ll get the job done.” Hongjoong said.

“So, with your base destroyed, you three are living here now?” Eden asked.

“It’s only temporary.” Hongjoong answered. “Once I take out that Ancient bastard we’ll have our base rebuilt.”

“There’s no real point trying to rebuild now when he could just send more of his goons to level it again.” Jongho explained.

“Uh huh.” Eden replied, something dubious about his tone.

“What, like we’re just supposed to live here forever, now?” Hongjoong sniped.

“All three of you are familiars dependent upon their blood. Your weaponsmith has a forge here with Seonghwa’s permission. It certainly doesn’t read as temporary.” Eden countered.

“He needed a forge to finish the new weapon he was working on for me. The intention wasn’t ever to stay.” Hongjoong insisted. He caught Yunho’s look, then; regretful. He schooled his features, but not fast enough. “Right?”

“I mean, no. That wasn’t the intention.” Yunho agreed quietly.

“But?” Hongjoong wheedled.

“But… nothing. I just go where you go, boss. We can all carpool out here together when our bodies start reminding us we need their blood.” Yunho offered a smile, then, but it didn’t reach his eyes. It seemed pained.

Eden raised an eyebrow at Hongjoong. Jongho studiously avoided looking both of them.

It felt like a conversation for another time and place, and so, they left it at that.

***

It took several days before they had everything prepared for the recon mission.

Yunho completely overhauled one of the drones with a camera, quiet blades and satellite link-up for long-distance control. He tested the controls—and the volume—by having it track around the mansion and lurking near Seonghwa to see if the vampire took notice of it. That backfired almost immediately when Seonghwa spotted him, smiled sweetly and asked, “Testing your new equipment, Yunho-ssi?”

He sputtered and dutifully ensured the controller was hidden behind his back. “What? What… uh… makes you say that?”

Seonghwa tilted his head, grinning indulgently and motioning toward the wall in the exact location where the drone was hovering outside. “It is impressively quiet but I  _ can  _ hear it. Perhaps I would not notice if I did not know ahead of time that you were working on one, but… it is certainly within my ability to hear it.”

Yunho sighed, slumping. “Damn. The Ancient is even older than you, right? His senses have to be refined enough that he’ll pick it up, too.”

“Perhaps. We may wish to consider offering some form of distraction.” Seonghwa suggested.

“That sounds dangerous.” Yunho mumbled.

“Not in the least.” Seonghwa said. “I can simply call him again.”

Yunho startled at that. “But… what will you talk about?”

“I am sure I can think of something.” Seonghwa assured, offering a smile.

***

It was agreed that Eden would take the drone to Hanam on his way back to Seoul. He wanted to check on a few leads in Hanam anyway, claiming he had connections there who may know a bit about their reclusive ancient vampire neighbor. He promised to return before the gala to work on a more comprehensive plan, and took his leave.

Somehow, everything went off without a hitch. Seonghwa made the phone call and the Ancient seemed none the wiser, completely ignorant to their surveillance. He busied him with questions over whether it would be considered poor etiquette for him to bring a familiar with him of whom he was quite fond. The Ancient insisted that all were welcome—vampire and human alike.

From the video, the mansion appeared fairly normal at face-value. There was, however, a structure near the back of the property that was a bit curious. It might have been a shed of some kind, though strangely shaped, with a keypad lock, which seemed out of the ordinary.

When Mingi watched the footage, he pointed out that it looked more like the entry points for underground bunkers that he saw at military installations while he was in the service. They were usually used to house artillery or ammunition, and could double as bomb shelters.

“What possible use could he have for something like  _ that?”  _ Hongjoong asked sarcastically, but Seonghwa’s responding expression was grave.

“Likely nothing good.” He muttered. “Certainly nothing innocent.”

“Maybe he thought humans were going to try to wipe vampires out, and it’s a safe house?” Wooyoung tried.

Seonghwa pressed his lips together into a grim line. “Not impossible… but I would not bet anyone’s life on it.”

“We have to get in there and investigate.” Hongjoong said, determined. “We can use the gala as a cover. That’s our plan.”

“Then we had best begin tackling the logistics.” Seonghwa replied, nodding in agreement. “This is a problem we are rather unaccustomed to, however… our time is growing short.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will not put this off any longer! The next chapter WILL be the second-to-last before the epilogue.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is your official warning that this fic is going to get dark. I have added appropriate tags where I can, but I just want to add something here too just in case because I don’t want to spoil too much. I will say most of the new tags don’t actually apply to any of our main characters. You are welcome to message me on twitter if you want specific info and don’t mind spoilers (@NecroticNymph).

The day before the gala, Hongjoong was certain they were not ready.

He had always had confidence in his own skills as a hunter, but something about this entire mission had him jittery. They had done everything they possibly could to prepare, taken every precaution… but the fact of the matter was that they would be flying blind.

They had no earthly idea just what exactly the Ancient had planned, what the Bureau _believed_ he had planned… and what the Bureau planned to do in the wake of that.

Hongjoong was so wrapped up in plans and contingencies that he had not realized he’d completely forgotten to consider what he was wearing. That was, until he saw a maroon garment bag hanging on the door of Seonghwa’s room.

He hissed through his teeth, because _that_ was a hell of an oversight. He couldn’t exactly stroll up to the vampire’s mansion in his combat gear.

Seonghwa caught him mid-crisis, face brightening when he saw him.

“Oh, Hongjoong-ah… perfect timing. I’ve just received your suit for the gala from my tailor.”

Hongjoong blinked owlishly as the words processed. “You… a suit? You ordered me a suit?”

“Of course. Did you not expect that I would handle it?” Seonghwa replied, almost appearing amused. “Did you not notice that I’d already had new wardrobes brought in weeks ago for you and your team?”

Hongjoong coughed. “I mean, I noticed the variety of clothes added to the closets in our approximate sizes but… I guess I just figured they’d been looted from your personal collections.”

“Not at all.” Seonghwa answered, shaking his head. “I spoke with Yunho-ssi some time ago, and he confirmed that just about all of your personal wardrobes had been destroyed in the attack on your base. Clothes shopping certainly had to be one of the last things on your mind, so I simply ordered the three of you replacements.”

“This isn’t a replacement, though… is it?” Hongjoong asked bluntly.

“No.” Seonghwa confirmed, unzipping the bag. “I had it custom tailored for you… and you should find it much more comfortable than whatever bargain suit you likely previously had stuffed into the back of your closet for black-tie events.”

“Can’t say I got up to going to too many of those, but you’re not wrong.” Hongjoong muttered, looking over the suit. It was burgundy, and when he reached out to touch the fabric, it was heavenly soft. “Velvet?”

“Specifically of the stretch variety, which… from my understanding, is hellish to sew. But it will allow you much freer range of motion should you need to fight in it.” Seonghwa explained. “There’s a fitted tactical vest that is designed to go under it, so that you may have access to your smaller weapons without giving away such. The custom boots have a classic enough silhouette that they won’t create suspicion, but they have the traction and security of a tactical pair.”

“You really thought of everything, huh?” Hongjoong asked softly, still rolling the fabric between his fingers.

“I understand how important this mission is. For you, and… for all of us.” Seonghwa told him, parting the sides of the garment bag. “You should try it on.”

“Yeah, I have a hard time getting standard sizes to fit me.” Hongjoong admitted, stepping into the room to pull off his shirt. Seonghwa took the bag down and closed the door, moving it to hang on the corner of the large, full-length mirror on the nearby wall.

After Hongjoong stripped without shame—and really, why would he have any in front of Seonghwa, at this point—the vampire helped him into each piece carefully.

Hongjoong had to admit that the fabric felt spectacular, and he moved his torso and arms every which way to test the stretch of it. Every movement was effortless, and the fit was superb, tailored perfectly to his slender form. The jacket never rode up enough to reveal the tactical vest underneath, nor did he feel any more hindered than he did in his normal hunting gear.

“How is the sizing so perfect? You take a measuring tape to me in my sleep or something?” He teased, snorting a laugh.

“It was not difficult to surmise your measurements, Hongjoong-ah.” Seonghwa answered softly, laying his hand across the hunter’s waist. “I am quite intimately acquainted with your body.”

Those words shot through him like molten lava, his gut boiling in the wake of them. There was nothing particularly seductive in Seonghwa’s tone or mannerisms at that moment, but Hongjoong felt himself spellbound regardless. The vampire’s long, slender fingers settled across his waist in such a way that it almost seemed to dwarf him. Hongjoong always felt so small next to Seonghwa, despite that he was not all that much shorter than him. There was something to be said about the vampire’s aura that made his presence seem larger than he physically was.

Hongjoong made to clear his throat, but it sounded more like a strangled choke. “Your tailor outdid themselves. Thank you.”

“I shall have to pass along your compliments.” Seonghwa murmured, eyes raking over their reflections. “And while I admit that it looks rather dashing on you, you should probably return it to the hanger.”

“Y-yeah, wouldn’t wanna ruin it.” Hongjoong agreed, unbuttoning the blazer and dropping his shoulder so that Seonghwa could slide it off for him.

“Were you imagining doing anything particularly ruinous?” Seonghwa asked in a low voice that was somehow so casual in timbre as he returned each piece to the garment bag.

“When you talk like that, it’s hard not to.” Hongjoong muttered.

“My apologies. It wasn’t my intention to seduce you on the eve of such an important mission. I understand that your mind is elsewhere.”

“What if I don’t want my mind to be elsewhere?”

Seonghwa raised one immaculate eyebrow. “You would prefer a distraction? In such a critical time?”

“What’s critical? We’re as ready as we’re going to be. We’ve spent the last week prepping blind and now all I’m doing is running scenario after scenario over in my head on loop.”

“I sense this is your way of attempting to convince me.” Seonghwa said wryly, inclining his head. “But all you need do is ask.”

“Seonghwa-hyung…?” Hongjoong met the vampire’s eyes in the mirror, expression confident and smoldering. “Distract me.”

Seonghwa hummed in assent, slowly peeling Hongjoong out of the only clothes which remained on him; a thin white undershirt and his boxer-briefs.

As the vampire’s hands wandered the planes of his body, one with which he was admittedly so utterly familiar, Hongjoong shivered.

“Maybe not… a-anything too… intense…”

Seonghwa hummed in agreement. “Mm, of course. Nothing too taxing, you have my word.” 

Hongjoong wasn’t sure just what exactly that entailed, but he trusted Seonghwa not to completely ruin him before a mission. The vampire knew his limits better than anyone… perhaps better than he even knew himself.

At least, Seonghwa _respected_ his limits better than Hongjoong respected them on his own.

Another shiver ran through him as Seonghwa wrapped a hand around his cock, stroking with just the right amount of pressure and an elegant twist of his wrist on each pass.

“Just this, then.” Seonghwa murmured, nuzzling against Hongjoong’s neck as he kissed and nipped gently behind his ear.

It was a little embarrassing to Hongjoong just how quickly he fell victim to those ministrations, trembling in Seonghwa’s hold and feeling after too long that it was the vampire’s grip alone keeping him on his feet.

He found himself leaning back into Seonghwa, letting him take his weight, take control, take… everything. And Seonghwa did… he held him and watched with dark eyes as he worked him right up to the precipice, then waned, reveling in the way Hongjoong squirmed and writhed and dug his nails into Seonghwa’s hip, desperate and whimpering, but _trying._

Trying so hard to be patient, to take what he was being given.

Because Seonghwa had never left him wanting before. Not for any real length of time.

Seonghwa was often one to give _too_ graciously, to give and give until Hongjoong wasn’t certain he could stand it any longer… so for him to deny him like this was a heady thing. It was different. New.

It drove him _crazy._

Seonghwa kept taking him there, taking him right up to that edge, pushing further each time, until Hongjoong was certain he would go careening off—but every time, sometimes it seemed within a millisecond of being too late to stop, Seonghwa would back off, leaving him wanting.

He was not above begging.

“P-please, fuck, _please_ Seonghwa-hyung—”

He didn’t even feel any shame as he sputtered his pleas, hot arousal the only thing coiling in his gut at that moment.

“Mm, but you’re doing so well for me. I know that you can handle it.” Seonghwa cooed in a low-low voice that caused Hongjoong’s toes to curl as he writhed. “You can last a little longer for me.”

“N-not if you keep talking like _that,_ fuck—!” He whined, practically shouting when Seonghwa halted and held him—just held him, not squeezing oppressively—and somehow, he did not come. He was certain if Seonghwa so much as twitched, so much as ran the pads of his fingers up the length of him, he would come undone.

But he remained still, and Hongjoong trembled as he sat on the edge of that wire, teetering dangerously before the desperate feeling finally ebbed.

He wanted to _scream._

He felt as though his heart may break free from his rib cage at any moment, beating as frantically as it was, his chest heaving with every breath. Seonghwa seemed to listen in the same way he might enjoy a symphony, tilting his head and watching him with rapt attention. Sometimes he watched him through the mirror, but every so often, he would look down at the man in his arms directly just to see the sweat slipping down the line of his neck from his temple.

As soon as Hongjoong began to think he’d regained some semblance of his sanity, an iota of cognizance… Seonghwa would tear it to shreds, taking him apart piece by piece until he was shaking and begging again.

He wasn’t certain if whatever he was babbling by now even counted as words anymore, perhaps only broken half-thoughts and pleas as he grew more and more desperate. He didn’t know how long Seonghwa kept him on the edge—twenty minutes, two hours… it was as though the concept of time had disappeared. There was just him and Seonghwa and this cruel, glorious form of torture.

Hongjoong didn’t know how long it took for Seonghwa to have mercy on him, but by the time he did, it didn’t feel like mercy at all. It was almost _selfish,_ the way he leaned in and licked across the sweat-slick line of his neck, the vampire’s lips settling next to his ear as his hand coiled tighter, rising and falling over his cock at a harsh pace.

He felt that familiar heat cloying in his gut again, prepared to have it snuffed out again like every time before. Seonghwa had doused the flames so many times only to stoke the smoldering embers of his arousal over and over again

But then, Seonghwa’s lips moved against the shell of his ear, his voice just as low and controlled as it had always been.

“Hongjoong-ah… come for me.”

It was not a small mercy. It was a divine blessing from a benevolent god.

Hongjoong’s orgasm crashed through him so abruptly and with such force that it felt like he’d taken leave of his senses for a solid several seconds.

Then all of it seemed to slam back into him all at once, a torrent of feeling and sound and _too much._ Seonghwa’s pace was perfectly even, working him through it with sweetly-murmured praises that Hongjoong would not in a thousand years admit to mentally cooing over. He could never admit just how much it affected him to hear how _good_ he was, how _beautiful_ he looked, how _perfect_ he sounded. Seonghwa spoke to him with reverence that Hongjoong couldn’t imagine ever deserving. That did not mean he wouldn’t preen over it, though, even if only to himself.

When he finally managed to wrestle his mind back to full consciousness, getting his breathing under control, he twisted in Seonghwa’s arms. The vampire allowed it, licking his own hand clean almost absently before meeting his eyes. Seonghwa was _gorgeous,_ appearing entirely unfettered… like some generous deity.

Hongjoong fell to his knees, intent to worship.

The vampire startled as his zipper was dragged down, as he was freed from his slacks. “Hongjoong-ah, you needn’t—”

Seonghwa cut off with a soft grunt as Hongjoong took him into his mouth, down to the hilt.

Hongjoong knew he could never do to Seonghwa what Seonghwa did to him… that was, to completely and utterly ruin him, to save him from his own chaotic thoughts… 

But he would offer what he could, in the time that they had together.

***

Yunho had been soldering the same metal seam for at least an hour.

It was as good as it was going to get, but he was thrumming with nerves. He heard the new door to the cordoned-off area of his work station open and he startled, fumbling until he dropped the soldering iron.

“San, I told you it’s not safe for you to be down here while I’m—oh.” Yunho stopped short when he took off his safety helmet and saw not San, but Seonghwa. “S-Seonghwa-ssi! Sorry, I thought you were… uh… someone… else.”

“Does San bother you down here much?” Seonghwa asked, his tone light and full of mirth.

“Yeah, he’s uh… pretty insistent, too. I keep telling him it’s too much of a risk, but he doesn’t exactly listen.” Yunho grumbled. He could still vividly remember just a few days prior when San had cheerily knelt between his legs right under his workbench and insisted he _wouldn’t be a bother…_ that he just wanted to keep him company, in his own way. Yunho had been too terrified of screwing up on a build or inadvertently hurting San, so he’d just worked on a few sketches while San indulged in whatever it was he wanted.

(Yunho had never in his _life_ even _heard_ of ‘cock-warming’ and had to Google it. San was really going to be the death of him.)

“I’ll speak to him about it, if it hinders you that much.” Seonghwa told him.

“It does, yeah.” Yunho mumbled. “Most of the stuff in here could kill you.”

“I should hope so.” Seonghwa teased. “Otherwise our dearest Hongjoong’s job would be much harder, hm?”

“Right.” Yunho replied with an uncomfortable laugh. “Uh, if you wanted to talk, we could… move somewhere… else.”

Seonghwa cocked his head. “Are you truly so concerned for my safety?”

“Yeah. Wouldn’t want any of you getting hurt because of my tech, you know?” Yunho murmured.

Seonghwa smiled fondly. “That’s kind of you, to be so considerate of us. I can see why San and Mingi have taken to you so.”

Yunho choked, turning bright red to the tips of his ears. “I… I mean, they’re… uh. You’re all… really… nice.”

Seonghwa laughed, light and sweet and not at all at his expense. It was purely in amusement. “I don’t mean to embarrass you. I’m glad you have taken to each other so seamlessly.”

“Right…”

“Hongjoong and I both wished to speak with you, actually. If you’ll meet us in the security room? At your earliest convenience. Feel free to wash up first.”

“Yeah! I’ll go grab a shower now.” Yunho stood quickly, and Seonghwa’s head craned up to follow his face with his gaze.

“I must say it’s… so strange having to look up.” Seonghwa said, grinning in amusement. “Mingi is tall, but he slouches. Has such a habit of trying to make himself smaller, draping himself over others, just trying to appear less than his true height.”

Yunho made a considering face. He’d sort of noticed, now that Seonghwa mentioned it. He found himself wondering why that was.

“But you stand proud. Nice posture.” Seonghwa continued. “It’s a good habit… don’t ever lose it. Most especially, don’t ever let anyone else make you believe you have to make yourself appear as anything less than what you truly are.”

“Um… tall?” Yunho tried, sounding lost.

Seonghwa let out a gentle peal of laughter, squeezing the other’s arm softly. “Oh, and so much more than that.”

Yunho wasn’t sure if he knew exactly what he meant by that, but chose to let it go.

After a quick shower, he headed for the security room. Seonghwa and Hongjoong were already waiting for him, looking over some schematics he had laid out on the desk.

“Sorry I kept you waiting, but it was probably better for your noses.” Yunho joked as he joined them.

Hongjoong snorted a laugh. “Nothing I wasn’t already used to from you.”

“Hey!” Yunho huffed, crossing his arms. “If you’re done insulting me, wasn’t there something you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Yes.” Seonghwa answered. “We have been working through some of the logistics of our plan for the gala and have come to the conclusion that you may need to play a larger role.”

Yunho’s brow furrowed. “How do you mean.”

“Nothing drastic.” Hongjoong assured with a quelling gesture. “We just need you to be our lookout for this mission. I know I don’t typically have you take point like this, but Jongho will be investigating the mansion property with Eden and it will help to have someone coordinating it all.”

“Oh.” Yunho murmured, feeling relieved it wasn’t anything more intense. “Yeah, that’s fine. I’ve got some small spy cameras I can outfit a few of you with, and earpieces that are tiny enough that they shouldn’t get noticed.”

“Perfect.” Seonghwa replied with a genial smile. “Thank you, Yunho-ssi. Your assistance will be invaluable.”

“It’s no big deal.” Yunho brushed him off. “I thought you were going to ask me to come along to the gala or something.”

“What? My irreplaceable Yunho-yah, in the field?” Hongjoong scoffed. “Never.”

“Perish the thought.” Seonghwa murmured in agreement.

Yunho laughed, shaking his head. “Yeah, I’d be a disaster out there.”

Hongjoong chuckled, too, and for a moment, there was a sense of calm in the ever-building tension. Yunho sighed as he broke it.

“Well, tomorrow’s the day.” Yunho said, refusing to let his voice shake. “Let’s take the Ancient down.”

***

Hours before the gala, Hongjoong’s entire body was thrumming as he slipped into his suit, carefully loading up his tactical vest with whatever he could manage to fit. He had to disassemble his lightest shotgun to get it under the blazer without any lumps. Thankfully, the new weapon Yunho had designed for him was incredibly compact, so he made sure it was easily accessible in one of the front pockets.

When he stepped out of his room, he ran into San, who looked sharper than ever in a modern-cut black suit. There was nothing spectacularly flashy about it, but he had clearly put a lot of effort into styling himself, with his hair pushed back and eyes made up with dark shadow.

He looked Hongjoong up and down, whistling. “Wow, you clean up nice. Your hair could use some work, though.”

Hongjoong just rolled his eyes. “If this is a dig at the mullet—”

“No, I could make even _that_ outdated hairstyle look good, trust me.” San quipped back. “Here, give me ten minutes.”

He did not have a chance to decline before San was dragging him into his room, accosting him with several hair products, a hair dryer and even his makeup. Hongjoong only bothered squawking in protest once, because San was insistent and if he was being honest with himself… he wouldn’t mind looking even half as put together as the vampire did.

He emerged from the room a little while later, only after San was satisfied. He admired his work for a moment before heading for the stairs, claiming he wanted to track down Mingi. Hongjoong was self-consciously fidgeting in front of the mirror in the hall when Seonghwa emerged from his own room, causing him to whip around in surprise.

Seonghwa had chosen to go with a custom-made suit that blended both modern stylings and traditional dress. Instead of a normal blazer, his was a hanbok jeogori made of deep navy blue velvet. The white shirt underneath had a low mandarin collar so that it did not conflict with the asymmetrical lapels. It was paired with slacks made of coarse black silk, pressed and starched to hold pleats at the front.

Somehow, it perfectly suited him; a man—a vampire—who deeply respected history, but was firmly rooted in and incredibly appreciative of the present.

He caught sight of Hongjoong and for all his self-restraint, did not manage to hide the impressed look upon his face.

“San attacked me with his hairspray and makeup kit.” He grumbled, running a nervous hand through his trained-back fringe. “It won’t exactly impede my hunting so I was powerless to stop him.”

“It suits you.” Seonghwa told him, smiling gently. 

“Thanks.” Hongjoong muttered, biting his lip.

After a long moment, Seonghwa spoke again. “The others will meet us in the foyer. I believe Yunho-ssi had some equipment for us.”

“Right.” Hongjoong cleared his throat, trying not to let the nervousness edge in, and followed Seonghwa down the stairs.

Sure enough, everyone was there waiting. Yunho was the only one not dressed to the nines, even Eden, who had apparently arrived just minutes earlier. Everyone else had opted for fairly standard fair as far as suits and blazers went, except Mingi, who was wearing a long coat that truly took advantage of his tall frame.

Hongjoong waved off the appreciative glances of the vampires as he accepted a small device from Yunho.

“Standard earpiece, but I made them flesh tone and small enough to fit entirely in-ear. Should help them not get noticed.” Yunho explained as Hongjoong and Seonghwa put theirs in.

“Eyes?” Hongjoong asked.

“Camera in your pocket square, and Eden-hyung’s as well.” Yunho confirmed.

“We’re dressed for the gala, but only in the case that we get caught.” Eden told them. “Jongho and I will be entering separately on the other end of the property, and taking a different vehicle.”

“Do you really think you can just lie your way out of things if you get caught that far from the mansion?” Mingi snorted.

Eden shrugged. “Probably not, but our chances of getting away with it are better if we aren’t in full hunting gear.”

Mingi shrugged. “Fair.”

“Anything else?” Hongjoong asked with a cursory glance around the room.

“I’ve hidden several weapons in the floor panels of the Levante for you, but I doubt that you will have any opportunity to retrieve them should anything happen.” Seonghwa explained. “Mingi has two additional firearms on his person, though, should you have need of them.”

“Thanks.” Hongjoong grunted toward Mingi, who nodded.

“Otherwise, that should be all.” Seonghwa continued. “I will remain with Hongjoong until which time it is safe to take action against the Ancient, or if all hell should break loose. The rest of you should remain close, but if anything happens… Yeosang, I leave them in your hands.”

“Why does this sound like a last will and testament?” San grumbled. “You really think things will go sideways?”

Seonghwa pressed his lips together. “Better to be prepared for the worst. I cannot say what the Ancient has planned, or what the Bureau expects… but I do not anticipate an uneventful evening.”

“True enough.” Eden huffed, only sounding half amused. “We should get going. Jongho and I will need to scope out the property to determine if security will be a problem.”

“Understandable. You two should go on ahead. We’ll be right behind you.” Seonghwa replied.

Eden nodded, he and Jongho grabbing their bags and heading for the door. Seonghwa stopped him, however, with a hard hand on his shoulder.

“Look after him.” It was as much of an order as it was a request, his eyes sliding over to Jongho.

Eden nodded. “Like he’s my own.”

Seonghwa inclined his head, satisfied, and let him go.

He watched the two of them walk out the door, losing himself for a brief moment in the flash of a hundred possibilities of just what they might find waiting for them running through his mind. He was brought back to the present when Yunho cleared his throat.

“Okay, so, my recon will mostly be limited to what I can see through all of you… the cameras on you, I mean.” Yunho clarified. “But I have the approximated property layout from the drone surveillance in the case that you hadn’t memorized it. So, I can direct you a bit.”

“With any luck, we can get him out in the open and give him enough rope to hang himself.” Hongjoong muttered. “Then no one would protest me going for his head, human and vampire alike.”

“We are either over-prepared or under-prepared.” Yeosang said gravely. “The only thing that remains is to find out which.”

Wooyoung frowned. “There’s no way we’re under-prepared. All this planning, the investigation, research… we’re as ready as we possibly can be. I’ll bet that the Bureau is waiting with a sanction and will give Hongjoong the order once they have the Ancient out in the open.”

“From your mouth to the ears of fate.” Hongjoong mumbled sardonically.

“We will all hope for the best.” Seonghwa agreed. He handed the keys over to Mingi. “Pull the car around? Yunho, the GPS should inform you when we are getting close.”

“That’s ok, I’m gonna head up to the security room now anyway.” Yunho told him, turning to Hongjoong. “Good luck, hyung. Stay safe.”

“I will.” Hongjoong promised, and Yunho headed for the stairs.

San, Yeosang and Wooyoung went with Mingi to get the car while Hongjoong fussed with a few last minute things. Seonghwa quickly ensured the mansion was locked up before following Hongjoong out.

They had barely crossed the threshold, Seonghwa securing the door behind them, when the vampire laid a gentle, _careful_ hand upon his shoulder. 

“Hongjoong-ah…”

The hunter halted, only half-turning to regard him. It wasn’t out of any malicious intent or feeling, but rather a desperate attempt to remain focused on the mission.

“We cannot know what will happen, but I want you to know that… no matter what happens in there, no matter what any of them has planned… I will have your back.”

Hongjoong frowned, looking him in the eyes. “What, you expecting a full-on vampire slaughter-fest or something?”

Seonghwa’s lips pressed into a grim line for a long few seconds. “Whatever may come, whether some nefarious vampire plot or a scheme of the Bureau’s making… whether this is a trap for one or both of us, or someone else entirely. There is nothing that anyone—human or vampire—could say or do that would convince me to betray you. You may trust that no matter what, I am on your side. Always.”

Hongjoong swallowed. If the Bureau _was_ planning something sinister… Hongjoong worked for them. Wouldn’t that technically mean he was on _their_ side?

But no. Hongjoong knew well enough that Seonghwa trusted him to want to uphold peace, not to initiate a war… regardless of whether or not it was sanctioned by his own superiors.

If Seonghwa promised to have his back… it was so that he knew that no matter who struck the first proverbial blow, Seonghwa would be behind him no matter what path he chose to take.

Hongjoong just wanted the Ancient dead. He wanted him to answer for all of his crimes, for the attacks against Hongjoong’s crew and Seonghwa’s coven. That was his true reason for being there.

Anything else was secondary. Cursory.

He would make the Ancient pay.

***

The mansion was already buzzing by the time Seonghwa’s coven arrived. They had all piled into the Levante, save for Eden and Jongho, who had taken a much lower-profile vehicle out toward the back roads to sneak onto the property from an unseen angle.

Somehow, the mansion seemed even larger on the inside. Vaulted ceilings swept up toward the sky, wooden columns adorned with scrolling detail and draped in glimmering fabrics. The decor could only be described as gaudy, every available table crowded with floral arrangements and nonsensical trinkets whose only purpose seemed to be taking up space and exuding wealth.

The mansion smelled of roses… they were in every one of the bouquets, in shades of deep red and near-black. It did plenty to disguise the smell of blood, at least to Hongjoong’s human nose. 

There wasn't much of it, but it was there. There were attendants standing to the side by the walls, one every so many meters, holding trays of glasses filled with blood. They were dressed in costume-like coats, their faces covered with ceramic, feathered masks. They stood so still that Hongjoong did not believe them to even be alive until one moved slightly with a respectful bow of the head to thank whoever took a drink. Their eyes seemed almost vacant under the masks, like they were bored half to death and zoned out. At his distance, Hongjoong could not easily tell if they were vampires, familiars or simply humans the Ancient had hired for the event.

Seonghwa stayed at Hongjoong’s side, with the rest of the coven following a few steps behind. There were several groups milling about… all of them vampires. Several of them turned to regard Hongjoong with interest when he drew too near, thrown by his human scent or the sound of his heartbeat. He tried to keep his breathing even just to stop it from racing. Seonghwa kept a bracing hand at the space between his shoulders, and it was more reassuring than he would have cared to admit.

Hongjoong recognized several of the covens. He hardly dealt with them on a personal level, as he’d never had to put down a member of their clans… but he distinctly recognized the leader of the Coven of Starlight, as he was the owner of one of the more popular vampire clubs in downtown Seoul. He recognized some members of the Clan of Power as well, more by the fact that several of them were arguing in the corner, rather than by seeing any of their faces. There was plenty of discourse within that coven, and he was not surprised to see it bleeding out even at such an esteemed event.

The leaders of the covens of both Starlight and Moonlight caught Seonghwa’s eye and bowed their heads in acknowledgement. Seonghwa was surprised they had decided to come, given all the suspicion surrounding the event.

Seonghwa was not sure if he was glad for it, or concerned.

Hongjoong was habitually counting heads and checking exits, not particularly liking his odds. There were just too many people… too many _vampires._ Even if they weren’t all out to stop him, or worse, out for his head… they could still be swept up as bystanders if something went down. He didn’t like it one bit.

Seonghwa’s hand traveled up to the back of his neck and squeezed, suddenly, more quelling than calling his attention. He realized why when he looked up and noticed another vampire approaching them.

He was older in the sense of his appearance, which told Hongjoong that he’d been turned later in his human life… because the man before him was certainly a vampire. Unnaturally pale skin and eyes, and a healthy appearance despite his years.

“Well if it isn’t Park Seonghwa. I am delighted you chose to come.” His voice was light… almost unnaturally so. It didn’t match his face.

“Thank you for receiving us.” Seonghwa replied with a curt bow. Hongjoong was forced to follow suit for the grip upon his neck.

Hongjoong froze. This was him. This was the Ancient.

“Ah, and this must be your new familiar, the one you are so fond of.” The Ancient said in a teasing tone, smirking as he looked him over. “Handsome, for a human. Well met.”

Hongjoong’s throat was dry. He coughed, forcing out a soft, “Likewise.”

The Ancient chuckled, looking back to Seonghwa, and then the others behind him. “Still such a small coven, I see. You and I understand each other in that respect. Too much company can be grating over time, even in a house this large.”

Seonghwa couldn’t agree. The Ancient motioned over to the members of the Coven of Power who were still snarking back and forth.

“See how they squabble. They can hardly stand the sight of each other. Too many strong-willed vampires in one clan leads to discourse. It is inevitable.”

“In that regard, I cannot claim to understand. I have been blessed with kind, non-combative fledglings whom I adore greatly.” Seonghwa answered in the most polite voice he could manage. “But, please, do not allow us to monopolize your time. I do not wish to keep you from your other guests.”

“Charming and cordial as ever, Park Seonghwa.” The Ancient drawled, inclining his head. “Please, do enjoy the evening. All of you.”

His eyes rested on Hongjoong for a moment, and then he was gone.

Hongjoong didn’t realize he was trembling until Seonghwa leaned in against his ear, murmuring soothing words as his thumb skirted softly over his neck.

“I know that was difficult. I am so sorry. Thank you for not making a scene.”

Hongjoong nodded shakily. “T-too many people. Should wait anyhow.”

Seonghwa nodded. “I don’t believe the Bureau’s representatives have arrived yet. You are the only human in the room as far as I have been able to tell.”

“Great.” Hongjoong grunted, frowning. “Because I needed all the attention.”

“I’m sure the attention will be considerably abated once the Bureau representatives arrive.” Seonghwa said dryly. “I have to wonder if the other clans know that they were invited. The invitations alluded to such, but we are the only ones Eden spoke to personally and confirmed their attendance with.”

Hongjoong hummed thoughtfully. “That’s right… guess I didn’t really think about it like that.”

 _“Did I hear that right? Is the Ancient there at the gala?”_ Jongho asked through their earpieces.

“Yes, we have eyes on him. You are free to proceed.” Seonghwa murmured, his eyes never leaving the elder vampire as he spoke.

***

Jongho and Eden were poised just outside that suspicious little shed at the back of the property, ready to strike. On Seonghwa’s command, they moved into the open, kneeling in front of the keypad on the door.

Eden set a small briefcase down in front of them, assembling a few things. He sprayed the lock with a liquid in an unlabeled bottle, then shined a bluish light onto it, causing three of the numbers to illuminate. The lock had a maximum of spaces.

“The numbers used are one, two and zero.” Eden mumbled. “That’s… really not helpful. We have no idea which numbers he pushed more than once. They look equally worn down.”

 _“I can’t run this through an algorithm, it’s not enough information.”_ Yunho groaned through their in-ears. _“It’ll give us too many options.”_

 _“I would wager the code is 2-0-0-2-1-2-1-0.”_ Seonghwa murmured through the earpiece, clearly trying to keep his voice down.

 _“How could you…_ possibly _know that?”_ Yunho balked.

 _“The date the Accords were publically ratified was the eighth of January in the year 2003… but the day that the North American coven leaders finally agreed to the Accords’ terms and forced the Ancient to acquiesce… that was the tenth of December of 2002.”_ Seonghwa explained. _“Therefore, 2-0-0-2-1-2-1-0. I remember it vividly. I am sure the Ancient does, too.”_

“Try it.” Eden grunted, and Jongho did. The lock beeped, the light shining green as it clicked open.

“Thank you, Seonghwa-ssi.” Jongho mumbled.

 _“Just be careful in there.”_ Seonghwa responded softly, speaking no more.

Jongho took a breath as he pulled the door open.

It was an elevator.

Eden stepped inside, looking over the side panel. There was only one option besides the surface level they were on. It wasn’t labeled.

“Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Eden muttered, looking to Jongho as he pressed the button for the lower floor.

The elevator was fast, and seemed to drop several floors’ worth of distance into the earth before finally opening without so much as a ping to announce their arrival. They supposed a secretive base such as this had no use for such a feature.

The elevator doors opened into a crisp white hallway lined with windows. As they stepped out into the hall, they could see the windows looked out onto a wide expanse of space to either side, filled with rows and rows of metal gurneys as far as the eye could see.

Every single one of them had a person resting upon it.

Hundreds—potentially thousands—of people… all strapped down and outfitted with countless wires hooked into their heads, their fingers, their feet. The wires connected to each table, then fed together in a long tangle down the length of the room in the same direction as the hallway. There seemed to be some kind of command center there at the center of it all.

“Holy mother of god.” Jongho whispered as he took it all in. “Those people… do you think they’re the missing folks from Seoul?”

“I have little doubt.” Eden muttered darkly, making for the end of the hall with haste. Jongho followed.

There was an array of computers, medical and chemistry equipment, as well as other gadgets that neither of them recognized. Eden went to the nearest computer and the screen flared to life. There wasn’t a password.

Well, it’s not as though the Ancient likely expected anyone to manage to find their way down there, he supposed.

“There’s only one folder.” Eden observed aloud, clicking on the little file that was labeled ‘Project Thrall’.

It opened a window that had far more folders, organized by date and some kind of serial number. There were thousands of them. Eden opened one of the sub folders and found a few files: some formats he didn’t recognize, an Excel spreadsheet, and multiple mp4’s.

Video files.

“Nothing ventured…?” Jongho tried, looking over at the other hunter.

“Nothing gained.” Eden agreed with a nod, clicking on the video.

The Ancient’s face filled the screen. Over his shoulder, a woman could be seen strapped down onto a gurney but fighting her restraints. She appeared to be human. Her visceral shrieks eventually turned into soft pleas as she begged for her life, begged to be let go.

The Ancient spoke about her as though she was not there.

The quality was a little grainy. The date on the video was from several years prior.

The Ancient was expounding on some experiment he claimed to be working on. He spoke in technical terms, but mentioned psychiatric medicine of the past as his “current” focus. He claimed that it seemed to be the most promising in terms of what he was trying to accomplish.

Eden and Jongho watched several videos, each more horrifying than the last. The Ancient went through several different phases of research before perfecting his technique. His goal seemed to be to create an entity that was both a vampire and a familiar, which followed the will of their master without question.

It was the stuff of fiction. Of gothic horror and fantasy. Vampires could not control the minds of others, whether familiar or fledgling.

But with the advent of technology and some of the most gruesome techniques medical science had invented, the Ancient had managed it.

Hundreds of failures. Years of tests. In the end, he found a way to wipe away a person’s very essence with something like a lobotomy. He would ensure the damage was irreversible before turning them, then addicting them to his blood so that even their vampire senses could not fight against him. And then, perhaps most horrifying of all, he implanted devices of his own making into their frontal lobes which allowed him to impose his own will upon them through technology which utilized brainwaves.

A technological advancement which had been pioneered to allow humans with missing limbs to control a prosthetic as though it were a part of them… was now being used to puppeteer mindless vampire thralls.

Jongho thought he might be sick.

“This screen has a roster of all of them.” Eden said, turning to the second computer. “It seems he’s able to monitor their mental state from here. They don’t have vital signs, obviously, but their brain activity is… basically nil.”

Eden scrolled through the array, which was set up like a grid. Each square a gurney. Each one labeled with a number.

“Wait, hyung. The numbers, they match the video files.” He pointed between two that had a matching sequence.

“He recorded a log for them all.” Eden surmised.

“There’s one for every single one of them.” Jongho murmured, horrified. “He’s been doing this for…”

“Nearly twenty years.” Eden finished. “It seems he only perfected the technique recently, thus the surge in kidnappings.”

“Is there any way to… can we try to find the kidnapping victims?” Jongho asked softly.

“It doesn’t look like he kept a record of their names.” Eden mumbled regretfully. “It was probably meaningless to him.”

Jongho let out a soft breath as the video continued playing, now showing various tests of the limitations of the Ancient’s control over the thralls. They seemed incapable of anything involving fine motor skills or precision, but they could follow basic commands. Stand and wait, run, jump, kill.

Eden was still scrolling through the array, trying to find a face he could put a name to.

Finally, he did. It was a more recent kidnapping victim so the case file was fresh in Eden’s memory. He pulled it up on his phone, comparing the photos. Despite her vacant, deathly appearance now, it was clear it was the same woman.

“This is… this is awful.” Jongho murmured. “We found them, but… it doesn’t even matter. They might as well be dead.”

Eden nodded, expression grim. “Their minds aren’t even their own anymore.”

“I don’t think there’s anything left of them at all.” Jongho said softly. “Like he scooped out everything that made them human, and replaced it with his own will.”

“This is no kind of life.” Eden replied, his voice raw. “Death would be kinder.”

Jongho looked up, concerned. “Hyung? What are we going to do?”

Eden activated the earpiece. “We have a problem.”

 _“What is it?”_ Hongjoong asked, quiet but concerned.

“He has an army’s worth of people down here.” Eden told him. “I don’t know if calling them ‘vampires’ is really appropriate, though. He’s turned them, but…”

 _“But what?”_ Asked Seonghwa, through the microphone.

Eden sighed. “They’re… we’re certain these are the missing humans. There are more, though… probably from all across the country. Dating back far longer, too. They’ve been turned, but… they aren’t…”

“There’s nothing left of them, hyung.” Jongho cut in softly. “He has records of all these horrible experiments. He _lobotomized_ them, turned them, then addicted them to his ancient blood. He implanted some kind of device in their heads, it influences their brain waves or something. It’s a lot of science talk I didn’t completely understand but… these people are _gone._ Their brains are just. Mush.”

 _“He… the missing people? That’s what he’s done to them?”_ Seonghwa questioned, his voice quaking.

“I was able to confirm the identity of at least one, yes.” Eden answered. “He’s created an army of… mindless husks he can somehow control.”

 _“If that army is activated…”_ Hongjoong intoned, horrified by the implications.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll take care of things down here.” Eden said, his tone regretful but determined.

 _“What do you intend to do?”_ Seonghwa asked in a low voice full of dread.

Eden’s expression remained steely. “Nothing I’d want on your conscience.”

Seonghwa’s voice trembled through the receiver. _“Are you certain there is no other way?”_

Jongho frowned, his tone shaky. “You can’t see what we’re seeing, Seonghwa-ssi, but… I promise you that if you could, you’d know that there isn’t.”

Seonghwa said no more. It was Hongjoong’s voice that came through the earpieces, then, crystal clear.

_“Do what you must.”_

***

Seonghwa was still lost in his own thoughts when his attention was called to the front of the foyer. His head whipped to the door before it had even opened. “The Bureau representatives must be arriving. I hear several heartbeats.”

Hongjoong’s spine stiffened under the vampire’s palm. “Everyone stay frosty. If something’s going down, we’re entering the tipping point.”

Sure enough, the next guests to come through the door were humans. Hongjoong recognized a few council members he’d personally met, and Seonghwa knew all of them. A spot on the council was all but a lifetime position… and many of them were the same humans who first held the post nearly twenty years prior when it was founded.

There were ten men and two women, none under the age of forty. The discomfort on their faces as they took in the crowd was undeniable, their disdain palpable.

“Ah, our most esteemed guests.” The Ancient said, loud enough to cut through the chatter, which soon faded. “With your arrival, the ceremonies can truly commence.”

The statement was innocent enough, but somehow… it did not bode well.

The Ancient snapped up a glass of blood from one of the attendants by the wall, then headed up toward the stairs, ascending halfway so that all could see him. The crowd gathered, pockets of vampires clustered together in their covens. The Bureau representatives remained as close to the door as humanly possible without standing on the precipice.

The Ancient tapped his long nails against the glass, the tinking noise echoing through the space. The room went all but silent.

“Thank you all for coming. As you can imagine, this event is more than just a simple party. This gala marks the anniversary of the treaty struck between humans and vampires so long ago.”

There was a hushed murmur of agreement across the crowd, some of the vampires appearing less wary in the wake of the Ancient’s genuine tone.

“Nearly two decades ago, the Human-Vampire Accords were signed into law by the United Nations, heralding what has been described as an era of peace between our… species.” The Ancient paused, an expression of disdain upon his face. “I have always resented that distinction. To consider humans and vampires to be a different species is a logical fallacy. A vampire cannot exist except to come from a human. Vampirism is not a distinct species.”

The speech seemed to be one of unity. Seonghwa found himself confused. And then, the Ancient continued.

“We are not another species, but rather, the next evolutionary step. It is an advancement of form.”

Seonghwa glanced at Hongjoong, and they shared a look, unsure where he was going with all of this.

“Truthfully, I did not wish to sign the Accords. All those years ago, humans demanded to shackle us with oppressive laws and restrict our rights to give themselves a sense of security… I resisted this affront to our freedoms… though there is one in this room who did not.” The Ancient said, not even looking at Seonghwa.

He did not have to. All eyes found him anyway. There was not a vampire in the entire country who did not know of Park Seonghwa’s involvement in the Accords.

Hongjoong felt Seonghwa’s hand slip down from his spine to his waist, as though he expected to have to physically move him, as though he anticipated some kind of danger. His jaw tightened, but his eyes did not betray anything save determination, though he surely must have been curious just what the elder vampire was playing at.

“Park Seonghwa’s indiscretions aside, it was the humans who insisted upon these oppressive laws. And to enforce them, they appointed you… the council members of the Bureau.” The Ancient continued, his tone aloof but cutting as he motioned to them. “So many familiar faces. Nearly two decades you have remained at your posts, diligently imposing the will of humanity upon us. But time has not been kind to you, I see.”

“Just what are you playing at? What is all this?” One of the councilwomen hissed, clearly impatient.

“Please forgive my theatrics. I have been awaiting this moment for nearly twenty years, you see… and I am simply trembling with excitement.” The Ancient replied with a blithe smirk. “For too long, I have allowed— _we_ have allowed—humanity to dictate how we live our lives, how we grow our covens, how we _feed…_ but no longer.”

Hongjoong was rigid with tension. Whatever was going to happen was happening _now._

“It only takes _one_ vampire to break the cycle. Just one, to step up and say that enough is enough.” The Ancient continued.

 _“Um, hyung, Seonghwa-ssi… we have another problem.”_ Jongho’s voice came through the earpieces.

“Now isn’t a great time.” Hongjoong mumbled through gritted teeth, ducking his face behind Seonghwa’s arm so the Ancient wouldn’t see him talking.

 _“This can’t wait.”_ Eden insisted. _“We found a row of gurneys in the lab empty. The computer array shows they weren’t casualties of the experiments. They’re listed as ’DEPLOYED’.”_

Seonghwa and Hongjoong both startled, but the Ancient’s next words pulled their attention back to him.

“I will personally ensure the safety of any vampire who slaughters the good council right here where they stand.”

A wave of stunned silence fell over the room. Not a single soul moved.

The Ancient chuckled, shaking his head. He slid something from his pocket… a silvery device of some kind, fitting it against the space just behind his ear.

“You see? Humans have left us cowering, shying away from our own power. You understand why I needed to take things into my own hands.” He raised a hand, gesturing toward the walls.

The attendants who had once been standing there so dutifully had vanished. Only their coats and feathered masks remained, sitting in little heaps upon the floor.

Seonghwa’s spine stiffened. He hadn’t even noticed them move.

“How fast can you assemble a shotgun?” Hongjoong asked in the lowest voice he could manage as he undid the top button of his suit.

“Fifteen seconds.” Seonghwa answered.

Hongjoong was too alert to be impressed. He worked open the second button casually. “I’ll give you twenty if you load it.”

“Just give the word.” Seonghwa murmured.

Shadows ebbed through the crowd, and the council grew increasingly more nervous.

As several figures darted closer to them through the groups of vampires, too fast to catch more than a quick glimpse—the head councilwoman tapped the smartwatch on her wrist.

Seonghwa’s attention whipped to the door again as it slammed open, startling the other covens. Armored soldiers in deep colors and vests emblazoned with the Bureau’s logo poured inside, armed to the teeth. Their uniforms, save the logo, were vaguely familiar, but he did not have time to dwell on it.

“Now!” Hongjoong barked, loosing the last button. He noticed Seonghwa’s hands as they slipped under his blazer. “Now now now—”

He felt a little helpless being unarmed when such a threat was looming, but it had not even been eighteen seconds before Seonghwa was sliding the perfectly-assembled firearm into his hand.

The soldiers had all filed in, forming a circle around the council.

The attendants from before slinked out of the shadows, standing just meters from them, as though they were waiting.

They did not look like normal vampires. Their skin was sickly pale, almost bluish at the edges of their hairlines and tips of their fingers. Their eyes were milky and somewhat vacant, and there was some kind of metal contraption strapped—no, _implanted—_ into their foreheads, sleek and silver.

The Ancient motioned forward with one hand, and his thralls moved into action.

“Kill them! Kill the vampires!” Ordered the councilwoman.

“Which ones?” The squad leader clarified, raising his rifle hesitantly. His voice was tinny, projected through a small microphone in his helmet.

“All of them.”

Seonghwa’s eyes went wide in horror.

The mansion descended into a cacophony of noise and motion, instantly descending into chaos.

Gunfire erupted, tangling with the screams of the vampires as they fled, and the shrieks of the thralls as they attacked. 

Hongjoong shot one of the mindless vampires as it lunged toward a council member, only to watch as one of the soldiers fired at the perfectly innocent vampires behind him. He threw himself in front of them, taking down another of the attacking creatures.

“Stop this!” Hongjoong protested desperately. “These covens did nothing wrong! I came here with several vampires to take the Ancient out! You only need to kill his thralls!”

“Back off, hunter. This is beyond your pay-grade.” The councilwoman snapped.

“No! We’re meant to dispense justice, not commit genocide!” Hongjoong snarled.

The councilwoman stared at him coldly for a brief moment before turning to the soldier in front of her. “This one, too. He’s a liability.”

Several things happened simultaneously.

Hongjoong was all at once staring down the barrel of a rifle and falling, shoved to the ground as a solid weight met his side, tackling him as the shot rang out. At the same time, one of the thralls had leaped at the soldier, ripping into the neck of his armor with a feral scream.

The hunter blinked up at his savior. Seonghwa—who still managed to look so strikingly beautiful despite that he appeared somewhat harried, checking Hongjoong over for injury.

“Are you—”

“I’m fine!” Hongjoong cut him off, shouting over the chaos. “The covens, we need to get them all out of here! But if I can take out the Ancient… all this stops!”

That was only true if the Bureau called off their dogs, too. Except, one by one, those mindless vampires were tearing into them, shredding the soldiers in order to reach the council members, only to slaughter them where they stood. At the current rate, there would not be anyone left of the Bureau to concern themselves with.

It was a massacre.

Seonghwa glanced across the room to where the Ancient was standing halfway up the grand staircase, watching with glee.

“Go. We will ensure the other clans escape and deal with these thralls.” Seonghwa told him. “Once the situation is handled, I will be right behind you.”

Hongjoong stared for a long moment before nodding and climbing to his feet.

He bolted for the stairs.

The Ancient appeared completely unfettered, throwing back the blood in the glass he was holding before tossing it away, letting it shatter on the ground. Hongjoong sneered as he stepped in front of him.

“That’s just wasteful.”

“Oh, if it isn’t Park Seonghwa’s pet. Curious.” The Ancient murmured, though he hardly seemed to pay him any mind, watching the discord going on behind him instead.

Hongjoong cocked his shotgun, pulling the Ancient’s attention back.

“Oh, fancy yourself a vampire slayer, do you?”

“I’m a hunter.” Hongjoong snapped. “But you already knew that.”

The Ancient huffed in both palpable amusement and offense. “I do not concern myself with the careers of insects.”

“You’ll concern yourself with _me.”_ Hongjoong snarled, leveling his shotgun.

The vampire gave a long-suffering sigh, rolling his eyes. “Have at you, then.”

Hongjoong raised the gun and fired.

***

Seonghwa waded through the chaos, trying desperately to locate what coven leaders that he could.

It was not lost on him that the thralls were only attacking the council and their soldiers, not the other vampires.

Not _him._

He reached Hakyeon, finally, who appeared panicked as he halted before Seonghwa, holding him there.

“This is _madness,_ Seonghwa—” 

He shook his head, cutting him off. “Just run! Take your fledglings and go! The rest of the covens as well!”

“And what about you?” Hakyeon asked, true concern under his incredulous tone.

“I have promised to see this through.” Seonghwa gritted out. “This is my doing. If only I had seen it earlier, if only I had suspected—”

“You couldn’t have known, Seonghwa.” Hakyeon told him as he let him go. “None of us could have.”

Seonghwa’s lips pressed together into a grim line. Somehow, his conscience did not feel lighter despite the words.

He turned to ensure the other covens were evacuating, and most of them were… but the Coven of Power still stood disjointed at the back of the room, their leader and a few of the elder members standing off against several others. 

Sooman’s voice was more manic than anything as he reasoned. “I believe we should consider joining him—”

“You’re speaking madness.” Snapped a younger vampire with hair dyed pale silver. Another vampire, taller and tanner, stood behind him as though to back him up. “The Ancient’s path only leads to war and death. You cannot believe that is better than—”

“Than subjugation? I happen to believe it is!” Sooman snarled.

“It isn’t subjugation.” Said the taller vampire, and Seonghwa recognized his own words, from countless interviews, endless textbooks and articles cited over and over again. “It is compromise.”

Sooman did not seem to be in agreeance, but Hakyeon managed to convince them to leave regardless.

Now he had his own coven to find.

Seonghwa found Mingi as he took out the last thrall with Hongjoong’s extra shotgun, appearing ill at ease holding the weapon despite that he was trained in using it.

“That’s the last of them.” He said, dropping the empty gun with a disdainful grimace.

San emerged from behind a pillar, then, with Wooyoung, who was clinging to Yeosang and shaking like a leaf.

“Then we need to find Hongjoong. He was facing off against the Ancient alone—” Seonghwa looked around as the chaos began to ebb, the room emptying out.

The corpses of the council members and their security detail sat silent and still as the covens made their escape, many of them tending to wounded of their own.

 _“Up the stairs, make a left, then follow the hall.”_ Yunho’s voice crackled through his earpiece.

“Thank you, Yunho-ssi.” Seonghwa murmured, making for the stairs. “With me!”

His coven was quick to heed his call, following in his wake.

***

Hongjoong felt a little out of practice.

He had not taken a hunt in weeks. Hadn’t done much more than practice drills in the new gun range Seonghwa had installed in the garage… his aim was as impeccable as ever.

The vampire was just so goddamn _fast._

Hongjoong hadn’t even managed to graze him, and he was steadily running out of shells.

He was wreaking hell on the vampire’s interior design, though, so his irritation at the damage was at the very least, cathartic.

Hongjoong only had a single shot left when he raised his gun one last time, only for the Ancient to finally have enough of him. He closed the distance between them, wrenching the shotgun away and tossing it aside, twisted and warped, with the same disdain one might dispose of garbage.

“Are you quite done?” The vampire asked humorlessly.

Hongjoong sniffed, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. “I’m just getting started.”

Except, he really wasn’t.

Seonghwa hadn’t come after them yet, even though he promised he was right behind him. But it was probably for the best. He didn’t want to risk using Yunho’s new weapon with him and his coven around. Hongjoong wondered if they were having trouble fighting off those mindless vampire thralls after all. He tried not to dwell on it, because it would only distract him.

He resolved to use Yunho’s new weapon, feeling it did not have much choice.

And then, Eden’s voice came through his earpiece.

_“We’re just about set, if you can buy us a little more time. This place is gonna go up like a tinderbox.”_

Hongjoong smiled like a madman, knowing that regardless of anything else that happened tonight, they had won.

The Ancient, for the briefest of moments, appeared concerned, his voice snappish. “What are you grinning about, insect?”

Hongjoong inclined his head, teeth gleaming. “Just knowing that almost two decades’ worth of planning is about to go up in flames.”

The Ancient’s face twisted into one of disgust. _“You—_ I should have known any pet of Park Seonghwa’s would be behind such attempted sabotage—”

“Seonghwa? He didn’t plan this.” Hongjoong cut him off. “He’s a facilitator. A benefactor. But this? This is _my_ vengeance. Not just for all those people you kidnapped, but for what you did to my team, for what you did to Seonghwa and his coven… I swore I would _personally_ make you pay, sanction be damned.”

The Ancient’s brow furrowed, almost in question… but to Hongjoong, it did not matter. The smile fell from his face as he reached into his vest to brandish the weapon Yunho had only recently perfected for him.

“No Bureau dog will kill me, least of all a _pup_ such as yourself.” The Ancient balked, laughing. “It’s a wonder you haven’t choked on your own pride, brimming with it as you are.”

“You say I should be choking on my own pride, but you sure as hell sound like you just enjoy hearing yourself talk.” Hongjoong countered.

The Ancient just sneered, coiling like a predator preparing to strike.

Seonghwa and his coven caught up to them just as he lunged for Hongjoong.

And Hongjoong made a fatal mistake—habitually, almost _automatically,_ his eyes found Seonghwa across the room.

As a result, his response to the attack was just a sparse moment too late. Seonghwa watched as the Ancient’s claws cut through the air as though in slow-motion, knowing precisely where they would land, knowing exactly how many fractions of a second it would take until they had found their mark… and knowing that he could not possibly bridge the distance before they had.

He was not fast enough to stop it.

The world came back into focus in a blur of motion as the room was stained vermillion.

 _“Hongjoong!_ No!”

Seonghwa’s agonized scream echoed through the hall as the hunter fell. He hit the carpet with a sickening thud and dropped his weapon, clutching at his neck and choking as a gout of blood flooded through his fingers.

The Ancient did not even take pause. He moved forward, going in for the kill.

Seonghwa lunged, tumbling between them to snatch up the weapon Hongjoong had not yet been able to use. He stood between the hunter and the Ancient, blocking his path.

“With him!” Seonghwa ordered, his voice raw and strained as he stared helplessly at his covenmates, tossing his chin toward Hongjoong.

The rest of them moved instantly, diving for the hunter. Yeosang scooped him up and dragged him toward the far wall, Wooyoung putting pressure on the wound while Mingi and San knelt nearby, putting themselves between Seonghwa and Hongjoong as an extra line of defense against the Ancient.

 _“What the hell is going on in there?!”_ Yunho’s voice crackled through their earpieces.

“Hongjoong was… gravely injured.” Seonghwa said quickly, moving to block the Ancient again as he tried to move past.

“Hongjoong, I can save you. Let me.” Yeosang told him, already leaning in. One of his small hands came up to force him back, however, the fingers slick with blood as he protested weakly.

“N-no.” He shook his head as his mouth filled with blood, forcing him to cough. “No.”

Yeosang looked on helplessly, turning to his covenmates. They could only watch in agony.

Seonghwa turned the unfamiliar black cylinder over in his hand, regarding it. “I have the weapon. How does this device of yours work, Yunho-ssi?”

 _“There’s a slide button on the upper portion, press up to activate. But…_ you _can’t use it, Seonghwa-ssi.”_

He looked up at the Ancient, sneering. “I have little choice.”

 _“It’ll hurt like hell.”_ Yunho told him. _“It could… it could kill you.”_

“There’s no need to worry yourself over it. I will make this _quick.”_

Seonghwa’s thumb twitched on the hilt, and the weapon sprang to life.

Searing pain shot up his arm and the right side of his face as it activated, staining its surroundings brilliant purple. A specially-designed coil created a feedback loop through the metallic pommel with an array of small lasers, strong enough to cut through metal. It was a blade—a _sword—_ made of ultraviolet light.

The other vampires shielded their eyes. Even from a distance, it was painful. Mingi moved closer between them, using the wide back of his coat to block the deadly rays from reaching them. He glanced down at Hongjoong, still in Yeosang’s arms, choking on his own blood. He hissed and looked away.

“You need to let me turn you.” Yeosang insisted while Wooyoung continued to keep pressure on the wound. “You’re dying.”

But Hongjoong just shook his head again with a pained wheeze, those defiant eyes of his saying everything he couldn’t.

“You see these weapons humanity brings against us.” The Ancient said to Seonghwa, cocking his head toward the sword. “You cannot even hold it in your hand without burning where you stand. This is what humanity offers us: nothing but destruction.”

“Only for vampires like you.” Seonghwa muttered, giving no further preamble before he moved.

A human would have had trouble tracking the movement, but the Ancient had no such problem. He smoothly dodged out of the way of Seonghwa’s first swing, then the second. He reared back and Seonghwa barely had time to move his forearms down to block the strike that sent him careening across the room.

Seonghwa deactivated the blade as he tumbled, rolling across the carpet until he hit the wall with a painful thud. He snarled as he climbed back to his feet, reigniting the sword.

His body was not being given enough time to heal. The flesh around his wrist and cheek were already beginning to burn away again, revealing angry red muscle beneath as the skin sizzled and flaked off. He closed his right eye, trying to mitigate the damage for the time being.

He lunged, striking out with the sword. The Ancient was careful to dodge it, dipping low beneath his strike to return with his own before jumping back out of his range. Seonghwa went sprawling back onto the carpet, turning the blade off again as he rolled. He let out a soft grunt of pain as he stood back up.

“Cease this pointless fighting.” The Ancient entreated, gesturing wide with both arms. “I have not spent countless years preparing my revolution for you and your band of human-lovers to thwart it. For you to believe that I would allow you to stop me now… is hubris.”

“For you to believe that I will simply allow you to go to war with humanity… _that_ is hubris.” Seonghwa gritted out. The flesh along his cheek was no longer red, new skin growing in to cover that which had been seared off. “When we signed the Accords, it was a promise of peace. Your betrayal of that treaty is a stain upon all vampirekind.”

“Humanity is a stain upon the very _earth.”_ The Ancient spat. “And they dared to shackle us with their mortal laws, dared to oppress us in the wake of them.”

“We made compromises to broker peace.” Seonghwa sniped. “That was not weakness. That was _strength.”_

“It was _foolishness.”_ The Ancient snapped. “At the word of weak leaders like _you,_ Park Seonghwa, we allowed them to stifle us… countless regulations and fail-safes to keep us from usurping them. And within a decade, they had forgotten their fear of us. They grew emboldened. They never had the power to destroy us. _You_ gave them that power.”

“Perhaps we did.” Seonghwa admitted. “But we did it to prove that we were not inherently monsters. We never wanted a coexistence built upon fear.”

“Speak for yourself.” The Ancient intoned gravely. “Not all of us sat idly by while you brokered our oppression on the promises of false peace.”

“You’ve been preparing an uprising all these years.” Seonghwa surmised.

“A _revolution.”_ He corrected. The Ancient laughed, shaking his head. “But these fools you sold our freedom to… they sought to use me against my own people. In their hubris, they believed that they could _use_ me to annihilate vampirekind once and for all. They believed if they allowed me to continue with my plan that—so long as they knew—they would be victorious. That they could stop me, and once they had, use this planned uprising as the tipping point for nullification of the Accords and the total genocide of vampires.”

Seonghwa startled. “What? What exactly are you implying?”

“You must be blind if you refuse to see it. These humans you sold your freedom to protect… they want nothing more than your complete annihilation.”

Seonghwa frowned. He had always known that much of humanity would feel safer had vampires simply been wiped out altogether. He would never believe, however, that the majority of people would call for their complete destruction… would _advocate_ for it.

“Shortly after I began planning my revolution, the Bureau became aware of my actions. They saw it as an opportunity to shred the Accords and obliterate our kind.” The Ancient continued. “They have known my plans all along.”

***

Jongho and Eden had made quick work of the lab, moving every bit of flammable chemicals they could find and dispersing them throughout the massive space. It was a huge lab, but the space had low ceilings, which meant if they could get enough of a fire going, the entire place would go up like a tinderbox.

“This just… still seems wrong.” Jongho murmured as they rolled the last barrel out and returned to the command center.

Eden finished up stripping the data from the servers, sending them to his own and to Yunho’s as a backup before wiping the system.

“I know, kid. But they really aren’t human anymore. They aren’t even vampires. You saw the clips; they’re just… husks. Would you want to live as a slave to the will of someone else, with none of your own personality left intact? Would that be any kind of life?”

Jongho sighed, looking down. “I guess not.”

There wasn’t anything for it. It was an impossible choice in an impossible situation, but one they would be forced to make. Eden’s only regret was that Jongho was the one being forced to help him. He was just a kid… he didn’t deserve to have to witness these kinds of horrors.

Then again, he wasn’t sure anyone did.

A noise called their attention, then… it sounded like it came from the elevator. Both of them looked up, startled, when someone else entered moments later from the hallway. He was wearing a suit, but nothing fancier than standard office fair. And he was most definitely human.

“Hey, you shouldn’t be here!” The stranger yelped, diving for the nearest computer panel, likely reaching for an alarm.

Eden lunged and grabbed the guy, shoving him against the wall before he could reach the panel. He pulled the mobile phone out of the guy’s front lapel and tossed it to the ground before stomping on it.

“Neither should you.” He grunted, looking the guy up and down. “Hold on a second… don’t I know you?”

The guy just gulped, looking away.

“Yeah… you work for one of the Bureau council members. I’ve seen you at headquarters before.” Eden said. “You… you work for the Ancient, too… don’t you?”

“It’s not what you think…” The guy sputtered.

Eden appeared unconvinced. “And just what do I think?”

The stranger squirmed in his grip. “L-look, it was my only option. He promised to turn me and let me live out my days after his war as a vampire. I was afraid he would have killed me otherwise.”

Eden’s eyes narrowed. “You had another option. You could have told the Bureau.”

“The Bureau already knew.” He whimpered, his voice so soft that Jongho barely heard him.

 _“What?”_ Eden hissed, pressing harder against his throat.

“The Bureau knew. About the kidnappings, the experiments, the Ancient’s plan… they knew about all of it, and when I told them, they encouraged me to act as a double agent for them and report everything that he was doing.”

“And did you?” Eden asked.

The man swallowed. “I did, somewhat… but the Ancient _knew_ I was playing double-agent. He gave me false information to pass along to them. Fake numbers. Underestimations. Said if I told them the truth, he would kill me.”

“He played the Bureau.” Eden murmured, revelatory. “He let them think they knew what his plan was. Let them believe they knew everything, so they could stop him when the time came.”

“But why not just stop him? They knew what he was planning, what he was doing to all these innocent people, and they _let_ him? _Why?”_ Jongho hissed, anger boiling up in his tone.

The man didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.

Eden kept him pinned to the wall as he answered for him. “Because that would prove the current system works. It would prove that the Bureau could keep vampires in check with the current laws. He would have been punished, and that would have been that.”

He looked out over the rows and rows of victims of the Ancient, people who were victims of a war that had not yet even begun.

“But if they allowed him his uprising, allowed themselves a few casualties for the sake of image… they could spin this attempted revolution as an assault on the treaty between vampires and humans.” Eden continued, his voice grave. “They plan to make a case for the complete dissolution of the Human-Vampire Accords. They plan to declare war upon all vampires.”

***

Seonghwa stood in stunned silence, letting the Ancient’s statement wash over him. It couldn’t be. It _couldn’t_ be. He wouldn’t believe it. He huffed derisively, shaking his head.

“Enough of your divisive rhetoric—”

“It is more than mere _rhetoric!”_ The Ancient snarled. “Your precious Bureau has known of my plans for over a year now. And they have allowed it to continue. Allowed me to prepare my army, acting as though they were unaware that I was the perpetrator of the continued abductions across the country.”

Seonghwa scoffed. “That is _preposterous._ You cannot possibly expect me to believe—”

“Can’t I? How do you suppose I have managed to amass such a collection of soldiers right under their noses? Why is it, do you think, that any time curious hunters or investigators came sniffing too close, they were snuffed out? I certainly did not chase them away.” The Ancient said. “Were these pathetic hunters to come before me, I would have killed them myself.”

He motioned toward Hongjoong with his vermillion-stained nails, chuckling softly at the way he gagged on his own blood. Seonghwa felt rage boiling in his gut.

“The Bureau sent their dogs to keep any errant detectives off of my scent. For _years,_ they’ve continued this ruse, ensuring I would never see hide nor hair of a sanction. And they believed that I would continue with my plans in ignorance, assured that the Bureau was none the wiser to them.”

“But they knew. And you knew that they did.” Seonghwa murmured, empty. The once angry-red wounds running down his entire right side were now pale pink and fading fast, but his heart now felt as though it had been flayed open.

This vampire had not sent the strike teams after Hongjoong or after his coven. That was why the soldier’s uniforms were so familiar.

It had been the Bureau all along.

The Ancient cackled. “Of course I knew! I made one of their council administrators a familiar of mine over some time ago. And with the promise of granting him eternal life after his purpose was served, he gave me everything I needed to know about his employers. In turn, he fed them what information _I_ provided. They were not as prepared for my revolution as they believed they were.”

Seonghwa stared for a long moment, his expression blank and hollow as his mind lighted upon the slain members of the Bureau just rooms over. 

 _“We’re ready down here… lighting it up whenever you give the word.”_ Eden’s voice came through their in-ears.

“Do it.” Yeosang spoke.

“We have greater problems.” Seonghwa said, causing the Ancient to cock his head curiously. “The Bureau—”

 _“They’ve known the Ancient’s plan all along.”_ Eden finished for him. _“We know. I’ve collected all the evidence we need. Neither of them will have their war.”_

Hearing that brought Seonghwa the barest hint of solace.

None of this was as it should be. Everything was wrong and horrifying. The deaths of all those people, of the council, and the understanding that the Bureau simply allowed it to happen, even _ensured_ it would continue, and just that meant for them… for the world… that was a heavy thing.

“Surely you understand now why you must _join_ me.” The Ancient spoke up, his tone lilting mercifully. “The humans will be nothing but livestock to us. When my revolution is won, we will rule over them as nature always intended.”

Seonghwa’s focus drifted back in as he barely lifted his head. “And what of all the death and destruction that comes before your reign of ‘peace’?”

“It is only a stepping stone in the grand scheme of our uprising.” The Ancient assured. “If one wishes for peace… one must prepare for war.”

Seonghwa’s shoulders went rigid, his grip tightening on the hilt in his hand. “And what do you know of war?”

The Ancient guffawed. “I have watched lesser men squabble across the countryside for centuries… painting the hills will their blood, and their flags, only for another to mow them down and replace it. It is the natural order of the world. For the strong to flourish, the weak must be snuffed out… and the oppressors of our kind must be slaughtered.”

Seonghwa’s jaw tightened. He rolled his neck until it popped, feeling how his flesh had all but entirely knitted back together. He moved, faster than before, slashing out with his claws.

“I, too, have seen war.” He snarled, ducking under a grab. He activated the blade, slicing for the vampire’s legs, but he leapt away swiftly. Seonghwa deactivated the weapon again, skin sizzling. “Not along the hilltops from a high tower, from some protected place of privilege.”

Seonghwa moved once more, closing the distance. The two traded blows, but the Ancient’s focus was on that blade, waiting for the moment when Seonghwa would strike out with it again. It remained nothing more than a metal hilt in his grip, however, as he took advantage of the distraction to catch the other across the jaw with a hard punch.

“The humans you look down upon… they were my comrades as much as they were my enemies. They were my bane as much as they were my saviors.” Seonghwa growled, swiping with his claws. “Only a man who cannot die can see the utter devastation of war, can truly know it in a way no mortal can. Can see how little it changes through the ages. See how it shifts the landscape of countries, of the world… how it tears at the very fabric of society. How it tears at the _soul.”_

Seonghwa’s claws caught the Ancient across his neck, but it wasn’t a fatal blow. It was merely revenge. He backed away, the two of them stalking parallel to each other as Seonghwa balled his fingers into a bloody fist.

“A man who seeks war is a man who has not lived it. And if he has, and still thirsts for it… then he is not a man at all.”

The Ancient snarled at him as the wounds in his neck knitted closed, the blood ebbing.

“He is a monster.” Seonghwa declared, believing it to be true for the abomination of a creature before him. _“That_ is what makes a monster.”

Seonghwa leapt for him, lashing out with his claws and the sword in turn, again and again.

“Not the need for blood, or the way our skin rejects the light of the sun! Not our predatory speed and strength, nor the absence of a beating heart!”

Seonghwa lunged once more, but the Ancient seemed to snatch him out of the air itself, holding him in an iron grip. Seonghwa twisted, struggled, teeth gritting as he exhausted every effort to break free. 

“What truly makes a monster… is to look at the lives of others and see them as stepping stones for one’s own gain. What makes a monster is to look upon war, upon needless death and suffering, and to somehow not believe that it is the worst thing they have ever lived to see.”

The Ancient snarled, tightening his grip. His claws dug into Seonghwa’s arm, drawing blood as they struggled. Seonghwa’s fangs glimmered past his lips on a growl as he fought against his hold, meeting his eyes with determination.

“You will not have your war… so long as I stand.” Seonghwa shouted, wrenching his right arm free with all his might and activating the sword.

The Ancient shifted, pulling Seonghwa’s left arm so that it was level with his neck, but that didn’t stop him. He thrust forward and sunk the blade into the vampire’s neck, piercing through his own arm with a snarl of pain.

The Ancient stilled, then slumped, grip going lax. Seonghwa regained his footing and pulled away, tearing the sword from his own limb with a pained grunt. His flesh sizzled and peeled away, but he had managed to avoid the bone as he’d intended.

He spun with the sword, shearing the vampire’s head clear off his shoulders. It and his body fell to the floor with a squelch, the flesh of his neck smoking.

“There will be no war today.” Seonghwa murmured, deactivating the blade and dropping the metal hilt with a loud thunk upon the carpet. The metal sang with an eerie sort of finality.

There was a breath of a moment where the hallway was still and silent, as though time itself had taken pause in the wake of their battle. He held fast to the charred wound in his arm, the skin struggling to heal around the intensive damage.

Then, Hongjoong wheezed, and Seonghwa went to him.

He dropped to his knees at his side, releasing his own injury to run his hands over Hongjoong, his expression pained and piteous. He took him into his arms, gentle, as though he were the most precious thing on earth.

“He needs to be turned. He won’t make it.”

“He wouldn’t let me. He wouldn’t consent.” Yeosang sputtered. “He told me no—”

“I know what he told _you.”_ Seonghwa hissed, his hand shaking as he brought his thumb up to swipe away the blood on the hunter’s lips. “Hongjoong-ah… please. Let me.”

But he was too far gone. He only let out a soft wheeze, his eyes glazed over and unfocused. It wasn’t even immediately clear if he knew it was Seonghwa whose arms now held him, cradled him while his life slipped away.

Seonghwa’s jaw trembled, and he clenched his teeth to will it to stop. His beautiful face was marred with sorrow, contorting in agony as he watched helplessly. Tears spilled from the corners of his eyes, streaking down his cheeks.

Yeosang froze, feeling like someone was constricting his throat from the inside.

He had not seen Seonghwa shed a single tear in _decades._

 _“Guys… what’s going on?”_ Yunho asked softly, his voice trembling like he already knew.

Seonghwa reached up and pulled his earpiece out, throwing it across the room with a snarl of frustration. It shattered against the wall.

Mingi frowned, grabbing San’s arm and pulling him away. Yeosang and Wooyoung followed, moving across the room. Mingi quietly explained what had happened, filling in the blanks of what Yunho had missed or hadn’t understood. Yeosang stood a little ways off, watching Seonghwa as he clutched to Hongjoong’s shoulders and begged him, pleaded with him for any sign that he could hear him.

He didn’t receive one.

There was a long moment where Seonghwa did nothing but wept, and then… he brought his own wrist to his mouth, tearing open the flesh.

Yeosang startled, moving to stop him. But an iron grip on his shoulder halted him where he stood. 

He rounded on them, only to soften when he saw who it was.

“Wooyoung?”

“Stop. You have to… you have to let him. Whatever he chooses, you have to let him.” Wooyoung whispered. As he shook his head, Yeosang could see his eyes were sparkling with tears.

“If he turns him without consent, the Bureau could have him sanctioned.” Yeosang protested. “They could have him killed.”

“What Bureau?” San asked with a bitter huff. “Nine-tenths of the council is a bloody heap on the floor.”

“There are others.” Yeosang said. “The Chairman. Adjudicators. They could still—”

“You think Seonghwa doesn’t know that?” Wooyoung asked, his choked voice so so low.

Of course he did. He had to.

Yeosang realized then that those tears may not simply have been for Hongjoong alone.

Seonghwa cradled Hongjoong’s head gently in one hand, the other, bloodied, resting upon his chest to feel the slow, slow beat of his heart. He leaned down, pressing a kiss against the other’s clammy forehead. His lips trailed downward, leaving another at the tip of his nose, before finally he reached his lips. He left one long, lingering kiss upon them before he pulled away, his jaw quivering.

His lips moved lower, until they were next to Hongjoong’s ear. He spoke so quietly that not even the other vampires heard him… or perhaps it was that they chose not to listen. It felt too intimate to encroach upon… whether they were final words to a dying lover, or a desperate plea to forgive him for what he planned to do.

Seonghwa’s lips fell lower once more. His nose rested upon the nape of Hongjoong’s neck, against his weakening pulsepoint. He pressed a single, soft kiss to the bloodied skin before he let his own teeth sink into the ruined flesh, his bloody wrist resting upon Hongjoong’s lips.

For the first time, Seonghwa felt that Hongjoong’s blood tasted too sweet, too sour… as though it was tainted with fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’d apologize for the cliffhanger but I’m not actually sorry. I have been sitting on that last scene for close to six months.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on twitter @NecroticNymph… I’ve got some goodies on there, including a timeline of Seonghwa’s vampire life and the forming of his coven (under the tag #AteezVampireAU)


End file.
